


There can only be light, if there is darkness

by Danny24



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Magic, More than one Story line., More than one Story realm in Storybrook, Non-Sexual Age Play, Rape/Non-con Elements, Underage Drinking, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2018-12-04 13:53:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 44
Words: 190,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11556576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danny24/pseuds/Danny24
Summary: 16 Years after Emma defeats Gideon and the final battle is over, Storybrook's residence finds themselves cursed again. What happened and who can break this curse?When Gina Snow arrives in Storybrook, she finds much more in the sleepy town than what she expected.  Regina gives her the one things she always wanted, a mother and a home.  Can Gina overcome her darkness and give in to love?  Slowburn SwanQueenPS: I completed this work before Season 7 was aired.Teenage romance Gina/Jaden





	1. Part I - Gina

**Author's Note:**

> This story is told from three different places, and there are jumps in time.  
> Part one is Gina's story and how she fits into the new curse.
> 
> I have reviewed this story if there are any more spelling errors, I do apologize.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neal Nolan and Henry Mills are looking for a girl. The girl who can break the curse that once again plagues Storybrook. When they eventually do, the circumstances are not what they expected.

**Chapter 1**

 

It was all there, the story, their story. Since he became The Author, he had written many tales, witness things beyond the imagination. He loved his work; he loved the world of magic and fairy tales. It was who he was, the grandson of Snow White and Prince Charming, the son of the Savior and both the reformed and Evil Queen. Few understood his world, but it did not matter. He knew who he was, what task lay ahead. He had forgotten how many curses he had lived through, too many, but the last two were terrible. Both of them had taken away his family and their memories, again, and the only person who could break this curse was missing. He was twenty-two, but the fact was he was almost thirty. Being the Author jumping from Realm to Realm, made time stand still for him. He wished the same to be true of his uncle.

 

It was such a relief when he found Neal four years before; it was at that point that he thought the time had come to free his family and return home. But Neal had lost the key to breaking the curse, and so for the both of them, the search continued. The day the Black Fairy’s curse struck, he was sixteen, Neal was three. Now they only differed nine years in age. He found Neal in Boston nearly four years ago. He took the runaway home, to Storybrook, a very different Storybrook. To their relief, Mary Margaret instantly took to the boy, and she and David had been looking after him ever since. He never stopped looking, but he was a thirteen-year-old boy that for the first time in a long time was just a kid again and with his family, even if they did not remember.

 

He and Henry, however, were the only two that knew about the current curse, they were the only two that could even attempt to break it, but this time the Savior needed help. Henry was reading the story of the final battle again in his book. Unlike most young men his age, his flat did not look like a messy man cave. Everything inside organized. There were photocopies of various stories from the fairy tale books on the wall, connecting with each other to put a timeline together.

 

Between the Black Fairy’s curse, and the next one, there were six years that Henry and Neal pasted together, some from their memories, some of the other books, but there was one gap, a huge one. From the time, Neal escaped through a portal from the land that once was Camelot to the day Henry found him. Not Neal’s journey, but his companion, the new Dark One.

 

Neal ended up in the foster system for four years, and he asked around. Every new kid that he met he asked the same question.

“Had they seen a blonde girl,” That was how he landed up in Boston. Someone remembered knowing a girl that sounded like the one he described. And when two people are looking for the same girl, they are bound to find each other. From that moment, they were looking for her together. They search through official channels, and when nothing panned out, they tried everything else. Missing posters, ads in the paper, all in the hope that she would contact them. It had been four years.

 

Henry got to the part of the story where Fiona confronts Rumple. Trying to convince him that everything she had ever done, was for him. There were only two problems with the short family reunion. Rumple lived for his power and to see his mother with more power was unacceptable. Besides, she betrayed him, Belle and Gideon.

Fiona, on the other hand, realized a fatal flaw in her plans of ultimate power. She would have none unless they were back in the Enchanted Forest. Which meant that Emma had to win the final battle, and Rumple would never let his son die. Therefore, at that moment mother and son embraced, he took her wand, and she took his dagger. They looked at each other and struck at the same time. Fiona watched as her son's blood spilled over her hand and the power of the Dark One engulfed her. She let out a hysterical laugh before the power consumed her, transporting her to the Dark One vault. With Fiona away from Storybrook, her curse broke, the devastation on the Story Realms restored.

 

It was Belle that found Rumple and the dagger. She had lost her husband, and she was about to lose her son. She clung to the dagger, knowing that it would be the only thing that might save them if Emma won the battle.

Emma had already been in the battle with Gideon when Belle arrived. She saw as Emma threw down her blade and Gideon looking at her sadly before he plunged his sword into her gut. Belle gasped, she was shaking her head in disbelief, Henry fell to his mother’s side and kissed her. A kiss that restored everything. A kiss that took them back to their family, a kiss that saw the end of Storybrook and a happy ending for them all back in the world of magic and the Enchanted Forest. If only, that was their happy ending.

**Eight years later..**.  **Storybrook, the new curse, present time.**

 

Emma Swan was walking down Main Street to her office at the Sheriff Station. Her long blonde hair was hanging in curls over her favorite red jacket. It was a morning like any other in Storybrook. She got her cocoa and a bear claw from Granny’s. Friendly faces of the town were greeting her, the fresh nip of the beginning of spring was in the air, everything was peaceful and calm as always in their town. However, she could not shake the feeling that something was amiss. She felt an overwhelming sadness that she could not attribute to anything currently in her life. It felt like hearing a song from long ago, and the lyrics fill you up and overwhelm you, it might even bring tears to your eyes and you know there is a reason that this song makes you sad, but your memories refuse to tell you the reason.

She opened her office door with a key in her right hand, balancing the cocoa and claw. She nudged the door with her boot and placed her breakfast on the desk. Paperwork, complaints and a few messages, precisely like any other day. She looked through the notes and made some calls to answer back; she had her breakfast in between.

By mid-morning, she was ready to go over the night duty reports. Mayor Mills was kind enough to increase the budget for the Sheriff’s office. She and David mostly worked days, and Thomas and Frederik covered the night shift. The two young officers only called her when it was a Sheriff matter, and that was not often.

 

Arendeville, Neverville, and Ozwald were smaller suburbs of Storybrook, each with their own neighborhoods and deputies. Neverville was the wrong part of town with Untold Cove as the worst neighborhood. Neverville was overrun by the P-panner gang, and Untold Cove was host to their rival gang, but even so, her other deputy Edward Hyde, kept a firm hand on the gun-happy citizens. Storybrook was the kind of town where you could raise a family. Emma felt the same sadness again. Very few residents ever left, and they all inevitably came back, few strangers settled down in the town. The town was a midway stop for travelers and the serene mountains of Neverville and Arendeville lured more and more ski enthusiasts in the winter while the forest of Storybrook and Ozwald attracted the hiking and camping folks in summer. The town was booming, and tourism was good. John and Michael Darling were Deputy Sheriff, and Officer that looks after Neverville.

 

Arendeville was smaller, and Emma only needed the much-loved first-grade teacher Anna Reinder’s husband Kristof to run the place. Ozwald was entirely another story, and her officers frequently referred to it as Bitchville. Her deputy was Dorothy Gale, a woman that could solve any problem unless it involved the power struggle of the four most influential women in town, one of which was their Mayors’ sister, Zelena Mills. One of the more strange neighborhoods in Ozwald was Wonderside, but Deputy Jefferson Hatter seemed to understand the elusive boonies and kept the peace.

 

Emma looked out the window as the town came to life. The heavy feeling in her heart hitting her again and a single tear made its way down her cheek. She angrily wiped it away. She was Emma Swan, she did not cry, and surely not for something as stupid as a wayward feeling. She turned in her chair and started to look at her emails. As she answered it, her deputies reported for work one by one. Dorothy was always the first to check in. None of the suburbs were too far from each other, but they communicated via Skype more often than not. Gone were the days of walkies. Mayor Mills made sure that there was cell reception everywhere in town. Whether a farmer needed a veterinarian to help with his livestock or some idiots got themselves lost on the north mountain in Arendeville, her Sheriff Department had very little use of communication other than laptops and cell phones.

 

Emma knew she was due to report all incidents and activities of the weekend to the Mayor in an hour; she opened her bottom drawer to eat some chocolate. She needed the sugar rush before she could take on the Mayor and there it was… the reason for her sadness or so she thought. The bronze plaque casting its reflection on her face.  _“Sheriff Emma Jones_.” She closed the drawer and composed herself just before Deputy David Nolan walked in with his bright smile. Sometimes, she just wanted to punch him, if only to see any other expression.

“Morning.” She said, and even to her, her voice sounded unfamiliar.

“You alright Sherriff?” She gave him a shrug, and he just accepted it. From the day that Emma Swan walked into Storybrook, he had seen her cry only twice. The first time was when her son Henry almost died from a poisoned apple turnover and the day Killian… All of a sudden, he understood the hoarseness in her voice, and he knew better than to say anything. Michael and Kristof’s voices came over the Skype link at the same time. Jefferson and Hyde connected a few seconds later. Good, they were ready, she thought. She ran through the events of the weekend and any matters that needed her attention. She made a few notes to discuss with the Mayor. “Alright people, have a good week and be safe.”

“Roger that Chief” it came as one voice from the deputies.

 

Emma left the office, making her way to the town hall. Monday mornings, she never could figure out if she dreaded them or if she was indifferent. She shook her head as if she wanted to rid herself of the stray thought. Mayor Mills, gods, they have been friends forever and still, when it came to the town she was all business. Some days Emma wondered whose wall was thicker and higher. They both have lost so much. The two things they absolutely agreed on was that _to have loved and lost is better than not to have loved at all_ , was complete and utter bullshit, the other thing was that they loved Henry with all their hearts. Some days Emma felt like that was the only thing that kept her sane. She gave herself a mental slap it has been seven years. Seven years and on days like today, everything just made her think of Killian. It was hard to remember the exact lines on his face without looking at a photo. She had to mentally push herself to remember his smell, the way he held her, his arrogant, self-assured smile.

 

Emma knocked on the glass door. The big bold letter announcing the Mayor’s office. Her irritation was getting to her as she stood leaning against the door. Gods forbid she just went in, and she would swear to herself Regina only made her wait to impress her authority in case there was anyone with Emma.

 

At the office, Regina reapplied her makeup and gave herself a once-over before the husky voice called for the sheriff to come in. She was far enough from her desk for Emma to get a full view of the elegant woman. The silk blouse that fell open without revealing anything, the smoothness of her perfect legs, as they were placed together, slightly to the left, her right hand, leaning on the arm of the chair, flicking three fingers with powerful femininity. Emma took it all in, but her eyes lingered on those fingers.

“Are you going to sit or are you waiting for an invitation, Miss Swan?” Emma released a breath she had not noticed she was holding. She shook the sadness from her again. She was just missing Killian.

 

Killian that had been her excuse for the last seven years. Everyone thought the stunning Sheriff stopped her grieving when she changed her name back to Swan. The truth was, she was Swan. It had hurt too much to be Mrs. Jones without him. They were married for six years. He had been dead for seven years. One should think it was time to move on… Moving on did not seem to be the problem, Emma thought to herself, it was finding the right person. Then there was all the other right people, Neal, Graham, Killian… She loved them all, and they were all dead now. People died, it was an unpleasant fact of life, one of the only two absolute truths in the world, which cannot be argued or disputed. You were born, and you are going to die. Why did it happen to her? Well her and Regina. The mayor had loved and lost as well. Daniel, Leopold, Graham, and Robin.

 

Well, maybe Leopold was a stretch; she only married him because she had to.

“Am I boring you, Miss Swan?” Regina’s silky voice penetrated Emma’s thoughts.

“I apologize Mayor Mills. You have my full attention now.” They carried on with their business meeting, but Regina knew the woman across from her almost as well as she knew herself, they were friends after all, and they had very few secrets between them.

“And I thought the next community service punishment case you have; the culprit could paint Main Street purple.”

“Sounds good,” Emma, answered as she wrote it down; she realized what Regina had said. She looked up into those dwelling pools of brown. “I’m sorry…”

“It is quite all right Sheriff. We are done. “ She pushed her chair back and took in the same position she had when Emma walked in.

“So what is really on your mind Emma?” She shook her blonde mane and placed her hand on her forehead as if she tried desperately to get rid of a headache.

“I wish I knew. I feel like I am missing something like I lost something and I can’t remember what.” Regina raised an eyebrow, her perfect lips curling into a small smile.

“When last did you have sex?”

“Regina!” The brunette had a full smile now, and she gave Emma a look that always made her take a breath. She had beautiful eyes. Emma looked at her friend; it has been a while, now that she thought about it.

“I am certain, that is not what I am missing.” Regina turned her head ever so slightly, exposing her slender neck as her head almost rested on her right shoulder.

“I don’t know Miss Swan, some days I miss the meaningless sex I had with Graham.” Emma just shook her head, but she now smiled back, and that was what Regina wanted.

“Maybe I just miss Henry; I cannot wait for the summer break.”

 

Henry was now twenty-two and studying Law at the University of Boston. Both Emma and Regina had hoped he would look for a University closer, but he said it needed to be Boston as if there was something in the great city that was drawing him there. It was where he met his best friend, Neal.

 

Neal was an orphan runaway that Henry brought with him to Storybrook one summer. Neal was seventeen and a senior at Storybrook high, the two boys might have become best friends but could not be more different. They, however, had an unbreakable bond and the better everyone got to know Neal, the more he became part of their life. Mary Margaret was the first to take to the angry thirteen-year-old boy when Henry arrived with him. She always said that Neal became the child she never had. She could fuss over the boy and feed him and all of a sudden, the skinny runaway had a place to call home.

 

Mary Margaret and David cared for the boy as if he was theirs. Neal and Henry, were like brothers, and they were often in deep discussions, the three _mothers_ often pondered on what _operation_ they were planning now, but one thing was for sure, the older they got, the more they both carried a worried look. They got involved in a charity that contributed to _the system_ ; Emma always thought that Henry was helping Neal because the foster care system failed him. However, when she questioned her son, he looked at her very seriously and replied that the system not only failed Neal but her as well.

 

The charity they were involved in, not only helped to place runaway’s, but it had an intricate network of trying to find missing kids, reuniting them with their families and preventing children from falling into the hands of the child trade and black market pornography. When Henry changed his Major from English Lit to LLB two years before, it was of little surprise to his mothers. Their son and his best friend had a mission to make the system a better place for children. Emma knew it was a lost battle, but the boys were so focused on it that she only encouraged them.

 

“Hmm, neither can I,” Regina said, thinking of the summer with Henry as she stretched a bit in her chair. “So dinner at my place tonight? It looks like you could do with a home cooked meal.” Emma smiled. Between Regina and Mary Margaret, she often had home cooked meals. Emma long since stopped to think about the dynamics of their friendships. Mary Margaret fussed over her like a mother would and Regina… Well, everything was different with Regina, they worked together, but they were also great friends, they shared a son, and it was seldom that they did not land up, sharing an evening together. They would either eat at Regina’s or Granny’s; occasionally Emma would take her to Tony's Town Square Restaurant for the best pasta in town or more to Regina’s taste, Chef Luis’ for the great fish dishes and salads.

 

Emma could not even remember a time in their lives when it was not like this. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that she and Regina had their troubles when she first came to Storybrook. It felt like a lifetime that the two women were each other’s support structure. Did it change when Robin ran off with Trina? Emma thought for a while, no they depended on each other more than they did with Robin and Killian. They had a bond that neither woman could explain. They both knew that they would do anything for the other woman.

 

“Dinner would be great, thank you, Regina.” Emma got up to leave; Regina gave her a sideways smile.

“Please try to be on time, Miss Swan.” Emma gave her a smile in return as she placed her hand in the back pockets of her skinny jeans.

“I will try Madam Mayor.” With that, they parted. Most people in town never questioned their friendship. It just was.

 

Emma stopped at Granny’s on her way back to the office. For some reason, Ruby’s gossip news often told her more about what was happening in the town, than the reports she received from her deputies. Ruby was busy telling her about the latest power struggle in Ozwald. Emma was looking out of the window and the longing she felt before came back and clutched at her heart. The feeling was so overwhelming that she had to breathe deeply to take control of herself. She had her hand over her heart, and the next moment the tears were streaming down her face. Ruby watched her friend in shock. She turned slightly to Granny and mouthed _Call Regina_. She placed her hand on the back of Emma, rubbing softly. “What is the matter Em?” She asked. Emma just shook her head, trying to breathe. She was oblivious to the tears, all she was aware of being this weight of immense sadness and anger. Regina was half annoyed when Eugenia called and told her to get to Granny’s now! Something in the usually composed woman’s voice told Regina that she should just go. Upon entering the diner, all she could see was Emma. Emma like she had never seen her before. She closed the gap between them and took Emma in her arms. The blonde could not stop crying. She held her best friend and cried until there were no more emotions left to cry out. Regina gave Granny and Ruby a stern look asking what happened.

“She just started crying,” Ruby explained, pointing to Emma, she felt lost seeing the strong woman crying like a small child.

“Really, Miss Lucas, this is Emma!”

“Exactly! I have never seen her cry more than two tears!” Ruby said

Regina had to admit; this was different. She bent down, keeping her knees together, lifting Emma’s chin with a perfectly manicured finger.

“Emma, what happened?” Emma just shook her head and looked at all her friends’ concerned faces.

“I have no idea.”

**Boston, precisely the same time.**

 

“Neal! Neal! I found her!” Henry’s voice came over the cell phone. “What?” Neal had a look of disbelieve. Henry sent him pictures of the front page of the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. There she was. Neal closed his mouth with his hand as he looked at the photos on the front page of both newspapers; he had tears in his eyes. Neal had been searching for almost eight years. He shook his head.

“This can’t be Henry!” He had opened the papers from his laptop and was now reading the evening edition. “It says here she got a life sentence, she was tried as an adult and she is going to Framingham!” Henry gave him a small smile through his tears as he listened.

“Read the last paragraph of the Globe.” Neal looked down at his screen.

“The accused pleaded not guilty to all charges brought before her, the only offense, she ever admitted to: _I killed the Black Fairy_ , The Boston Police Department assumed it was a street nickname for the shop owner that was gunned down.”

Neal spoke softly over the phone at Henry. “She remembers!”


	2. A bit melancholy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Storybrook's Sheriff acts out of character

**Chapter 2**

 

Regina took Emma home, her home. Since Emma slept over many nights when she had too much to drink, she had a bag at Regina’s mansion. Gods forbid that Thomas or Frederik should land up arresting their Sheriff for a DUI. She took Emma to her bedroom, she had not said much, and there was no way Regina was letting her out of her sight for a second. Emma usually undressed herself and slept in the guest bedroom, but today she was in no state to do anything at all.

Regina took her boots and jeans off without a struggle; she got one of Emma’s sleeping shorts for her to wear. While helping her to put the sleeping shorts on, Regina noticed Emma’s underwear. Emma had on a black lace G-string with a matching bra. For a moment, her mind could not reconcile the underwear with the woman before her. It was so feminine, so delicate and soft, so not Emma, but here she lay in lingerie that Regina would wear. She quickly dressed her in the sleepwear, trying not to look at the perfect body before her. With Emma in shorts and only the tank top, Regina somehow felt a bit better; this was the Emma look she was accustomed to looking at over breakfast.

 

“Regina!” Mary Margaret called from the bottom of the staircase. Regina made her way down the stairs at a pace that made Mary Margaret wonder how she was able to do it so fast, so elegant in those heels!

“What happened?” Regina looked at the fourth-grade teacher. She called her because, besides herself, Mary Margaret and Ruby were the only real friends Emma had.

“I don’t know, and neither does Ruby, Emma apparently clutched her heart and began to cry like there was no tomorrow.”

Mary Margaret gave her a look with a little frown; she could not have looked more confused if Regina told her Leroy was pink with two heads. “She cried?” Mary Margaret asked, shaking her head slightly. “Why, what happened?” Regina gave the shorter brunette an annoyed look.

“Did I not just explain Mrs. Nolan or should I speak slower?” Mary Margaret held her hands up and looked at the ground. Just when one would think that Regina had her bitch under control, she would jump out of her box.

 

“Sorry Regina, what can I do?” Regina tried to calm herself; she hated reverting to the _Old Regina_ the one that everyone feared and never challenged, well until her ten-year-old son pitched up with a force of nature in a red jacket.

“Can you please cook something?” Mary Margaret was the only person in the entire world that was allowed to cook in the pristine marble kitchen and only because Regina knew after the meal, the kitchen would be immaculate again.

“I need to call Henry.” Fear gripped her for a moment. _Was what Emma was feeling that inexplicable bond with a child? What if Henry was hurt_? She swallowed and called her son.

“Hello, mom.” Regina felt relief as she heard his voice. He sounded so grown up, and yet he would always be her little boy.

“Are you alright?”

 

Henry frowned at the question; he and Neal as usual connected via Skype. “Yeah, all good, why are you asking?” Regina did not want to worry him, but he had a right to know – also he would never forgive her if she did not tell him.

“Henry, your mom is a bit…” _A bit what_? She thought to herself. “A bit melancholy.” _Really Regina_? She could hear the blond woman’s voice in her head.

Henry gave Neal a look over their Skype link and switched his phone to the speaker.

“Something upset her earlier today, and she cannot stop crying. When I asked her what she felt, she said she had this, this overwhelming sadness and anger.”

Neal began rubbing his forehead with vigor. His mind rushing through everything he knew, searching for an answer. It could be one of a hundred things, or it could be as simple as their powerful bond. Emma might not remember who or what she was, but she had more than one bond with their missing girl, magic and otherwise and right now Emma might be feeling the sadness and anger of this girl. He rubbed his head in frustration again, no there was no magic here. He felt his body giving in for a moment, and he collapsed in a chair. He looked at Henry through the link, and his friend saw everything that was there. Neal had fought so long, searched so hard and just when they both thought they might finally be able to go home, another obstacle crossed their paths. He shook his head. He did not have any answers. Henry realized that his mother had asked him a question, but his focus was on Neal that he did not hear the question.

 

“Sorry mom, what did you say?”

“I asked when you’ll be home for the summer.” Henry had not thought about it. Since this afternoon, all he and Neal could do was to try to get as much information about the girl and her trial. It was near impossible. Her name was not mentioned anywhere because she was a minor. “I haven’t thought about that yet. We’ll compare notes, and I’ll let you know.”

Mary Margaret’s voice came over the speaker. “I am already baking your favorite biscuits, and god only knows what junk you have been eating. So I will make sure you are well fed and stocked up.”

 

It made Henry smile. If anyone knew the truth about how much he was missing Storybrook, they would be reluctant to understand why he did not jump on the first bus home.

“Mom, when did Ma start feeling sad?” He did not want to raise any suspicion with his dark mother, they both knew him inside out, and it was challenging these days to keep secrets from them. Regina thought about the question. She suddenly realized that Emma was on and off for more than a month.

“It has been a month or so.” Henry looked at Neal; he wrote a note on the link for Henry to read: _The trial started five weeks ago_. Henry nodded.

“And this morning?” Henry held his breath and closed his eyes. “Did she start crying around eleven o’clock?”

Regina took a moment before she answered. “Yes, how did you know?” Neal jumped up and began pacing the room.

“Henry?” Regina’s voice took on an edge. He had no idea what to answer. The girl was sentenced to life in prison just before eleven o’clock this morning.

“I got some bad news about a friend about eleven. Maybe Ma is just picking up on my mood.” Neal turned to the screen and gave him a _WTF_ look. Regina thought about it a while, it would not be the first time, but Emma’s reaction was very different from other times that she knew something was amiss with Henry. She also knew her son well enough to know he was not telling her the entire truth. Besides Neal and Violet, Henry did not have many friends; he was too busy with his studies to socialize much, and they were here in Storybrook finishing their senior year.

 

“Mom, I gotta go, please keep me up to date about Ma?” Regina was not able to take a breath before she heard, “love ya” and the phone went dead. She stood with the device in her hand, looking at it. The three of them had been through so much; they were closer to each other than most families. However, her son did not sound surprised neither did he express much concern. She released a breath; she had hoped that they were beyond the point of lying to each other. It only led to problems. Henry was a young man, and she realized that she was a little disappointed in her son. He undoubtedly was not raised like this. She tapped her hand lightly against her skirt as she walked to the kitchen.

 

“Mary Margaret, can you please do me a favor?” Mary Margaret dried her hands and looked at Regina.

“Sure, what can I do?” Regina was a bit irritated with herself, firstly because she had not noticed Emma’s mood sooner and secondly because she now did not trust her son’s story.

“Can you please phone Neal and keep your phone on speaker. Please ask him if Henry is alright after his friend’s accident?” Both mothers knew their sons were continually talking to each other.

 

Mary Margaret looked at her with a frown, but she had learned long ago, that when it came to Henry, both Emma and Regina had an overprotective streak in them, not that either would ever admit it. She picked up her phone and called her adoptive son. As she was about to end the call, Neal answered. “Hi, mom!” She frowned and immediately placed the call on speaker. There was something in Neal’s voice.

“How are you, honey?”

Neal gave Henry a look via Skype. _Great, now both their mothers were on to them_.

“I’m good. How are you guys?” Mary Margaret gave Regina a look that would pass as anger for Mary Margaret. It would be Regina’s mildly annoyed face, but the teacher was upset with her son after the first two sentences. Neal’s voice was a pitch too high.

 

When he first came to Storybrook with Henry, his voice had that pitch whenever he was asked about his past. Mary Margaret might not be his birth mother, but she knew him well.

“We are all good; Emma is a bit under the weather.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, please send her a hug.” Henry rolled his eyes at that, realizing that he did not even ask after Emma.

“So how is Henry’s friend that was in the accident this morning?” Before Henry could move, Neal answered. “Ahm, she’s okay. Nothing serious.” All of a sudden, both boys looked at each other, much the same ways their mothers were looking at each other.

“Neal..!” Both boys jumped as the other voice came over the phone. Neal had placed his phone on the speaker next to his laptop and Henry could hear everything. He knew that voice all too well; it was not his mom, it was Mayor Mills.

“What are the two of you up to and why are both of you being deceitful?” Henry choked at the word. Gods, his mother knew him so well, and with everything that was going on, they needed to get way better at their deceit before he could go home.

 

“Sorry, Mom. We did not mean it. We are just swamped, tired, and Henry did get bad news about a friend.” Henry sent a silent prayer to whatever god would listen at that moment. Regina’s dark eyes met the green ones of Mary Margaret. She nodded, and Regina continued.

“Fine, we will leave it for now.” She stretched the now, and it made both boys shiver.

“And Henry, Emma is not a book report, she is your mother, I expect you to take a greater interest in her well-being.” She said it as if she knew the other boy listened to the conversation. Henry heard the slight break in his mom’s voice and realized it was much more severe than what he thought.

 

Henry relayed a message to Regina, “He says he is sorry, Miss Mills and that he will give her a call.” Regina clenched her jaw. “She is sleeping at the moment; I will let him know when she is up again.”

Neal said goodbye. Mary Margaret wanted to ask Regina how she knew their sons were up to something, but the mayor turned abruptly and left to go and check on Emma. She walked into the bedroom, expecting Emma to be still asleep, but she was up and leaning against the frame of the balcony door. Her arms crossed over her chest as if she was holding herself, her one leg up, her foot flat against the frame. The afternoon sun lighted up her long blonde mane, and she looked both vulnerable and strong. Regina held her breath for a moment, looking at her friend. _Vulnerable_? No, this was Emma, she told herself as she walked closer.

“I thought you would still be sleeping?” Emma did not look at her. Regina continued, “Mary Margaret is cooking chicken soup for you…” Her voice trailed off as Emma turned to face her. The sadness was gone, it was replaced by fear. Regina composed herself after the initial shock; she walked over to Emma with grace and ease. “Em…?” The words got lost as Regina looked into the forest green eyes. She could feel the anger and fear radiating off Emma. She slowly lifted up her hand and touched Emma’s face. The touch, turning into a caress and all Regina could do while being so close was to whisper: “Everything will be alright.”

**MCI-Framingham same time**

The newest and youngest member of the Framingham female penitentiary was standing in the queue to receive her bedding for her first night in the facility. She was scared, truly scared. Her life was not easy; she had been scared before, but today was different. All she wanted to do was to run. She was hanging on by a thread and trying her best not to show anyone the fear when all of a sudden relief flushed over her, and she could swear someone whisper: _Everything will be alright,_ to her.


	3. You share a bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has reference to rape

**Chapter 3**

 

Henry and Neal talked to everyone that was involved in the case. They had to bribe a few people, but in a week, they had a clear picture of their missing girl’s life from her arrest to now. They also had a name, Gina Snow. They worked endlessly on her case, and it did not take too long to realize there was something very wrong. They relayed their information to each other every night.

Regina kept a close eye on Emma. After her breakdown, she tried to explain it to her friends, but nothing made sense. She went for blood test to see if it was hormonal since that was the best explanation she had. Regina asked her to go and see Archie, but Emma flatly refused. Archie was a good friend, and he had helped her a lot after Killian died, but this was definitely not an Archie problem. Everything seemed to be normal again. Emma was running her department, as usual, there was no sign of the fear or sadness Regina had witnessed. Emma was Emma once more.

 

**Framingham**

 

In Framingham, Gina Snow was slowly getting used to her new routine, so was her unit. The other woman had bets on how soon the kid would start crying for her mommy. She never cried, but the nightmares she had as a small child came back with a vengeance, the night of the murder and here in this place, it became everyone’s wakeup call in the morning. The first couple of days the kid’s screams chilled even hardened inmates, but like everything else, one gets used to a routine, and the kid did not transgress from hers.

She woke up screaming, started to do pushups, showered, eat, find her work order or attend an orientation, eat, more work, eat, counts, lockdown, lights out at ten thirty. She would start the pushups, situps and any other exercise she could do in her single cell again until she would literary pass out from exhaustion, and within an hour or two, the nightmarish screams would start again.

Gina had a single cell because of her age. The guards were keeping a close eye on her movements at all times. She asked to be enrolled in one of the education programs to finish school. Her first month went by without any incidents, and as far as the administration could see, the fourteen-year-old would be a model prisoner.

************

 

Emma was ready to go to bed, for a change she would get an early night. She was brushing her teeth when panic and fear gripped her. She was breathing fast, trying to get away from the invisible threat around her when she felt the first sting of pain in her right arm. The anger exploded through her like a tangible force. There was more pain, this time in her ribs. Emma closed her eyes and willed herself with everything in her to fight this, whatever this was she was not giving up. Therefore, she fought, and she fought hard. The pain increased all over her body, and she finally felt her power and energy slipping. That was when she felt excruciating pain between her legs. The torment felt like it lasted forever and then it was over. Emma crawled to a corner in her bedroom and lay in a fetal position holding herself.

 

This was how Regina found her the next morning. When Emma did not turn up for work or answered her phone, Regina drove over to her modern house and let herself in. Emma had long since given her a key. She called for the blonde, but there was no answer. Slight panic set itself into Regina’s heart. She made her way to the bedroom and found Emma curled up in the corner sleeping. Regina felt frightened when she looked at her friend. She softly touched Emma, at the touch, the Sheriff jumped up, only to double over in obvious pain and fell to the floor again, taking on the same position as before. Her eyes were open now, and she watched Regina. The mayor could see that there was no recognition in Emma’s eyes. She placed her hand back on Emma’s shoulder; she went stiff for a second and then allowed the contact. Regina rubbed softly where she was now kneeling next to Emma.

“Emma?” Emma grabbed the hand that was reassuring her and turned her face from Regina crying softly. Regina took her phone out of her bag with her other hand and called David.

“Get over here and bring your wife.”

 

Regina knew all too well from Emma’s body language what had happened. She went through it with Leopold; she knew Emma’s pain all too well. She started to speak softly to Emma, about everything and nothing at all while she tried to assess the damage done. She was not a doctor, but from experience, she knew there would be marks. Defensive wounds, a black eye or cheek and blood, there was always blood. She coached Emma out of her fetal position. There was nothing. Not a mark on her arms, her face, her tank top and shorts still in tacked. She lightly pulled Emma’s tank top down a bit. There were no marks on her breasts either, yet everything about the woman’s current state told her that she was raped.

 

She placed her knees together and sat down next to Emma, holding her arms open and the blonde immediately came to rest in her lap, holding on to Regina while she stroked the blonde hair and whisper reassurances. Emma’s head was against her shoulder, and for the first time, Regina allowed a single tear to fall. She could feel her own powerlessness and anger boiling to the surface. Whatever happened to Emma, she would not rest until she found the answers and the culprit.

 

When David and Mary Margaret walked into the bedroom and found the two, Mary Margaret inhaled sharply and her hand shot up to her mouth, tears in her eyes. She knew she, had seen this before. David looked at her for guidance. She turned him around and pushed him out of the door. “David, look for a break in, a struggle, blood, anything.” He opened his mouth to start asking questions, but Mary Margaret snapped at him.

“Just do your job, look for an intruder!” She turned and came to sit next to Regina. They shared a look, and both continued to reassure Emma.

 

David eventually returned. There was no sign of a break-in, an intruder or anything suspicious. He walked back to Emma’s room, this time he stood in the door until Mary Margaret felt his eyes on her. She got up, and without explaining anything, she asked David to pick Emma up and carry her to the bed. Both women kept a watchful eye. There was no reaction from Emma when David touched her. No flinch, no pulling back or protesting. She let David pick her up, and her arm went automatically around his neck, her face buried in his chest. The two dark-haired woman shared a confused look. Usually, rape victims would have some reaction when a man touched them, even a man they trusted. She let David place her in bed, and he covered her, looking back with questions in his eyes. Mary Margaret swallowed her sadness and gave Emma a small smile. “I am going to make tea. David followed her.

 

Regina removed her shoes and climbed into the bed with Emma, spooning with her, holding her from behind. “Em, what happened?” She felt Emma go stiff in her arms before she let go and whispered.

“I don’t know.” Regina did not want to push too much too soon, but they all had to know. They had to get Emma to a hospital for an assessment and a rape kit.

“Emma, were you sexually assaulted last night?” She felt her friend turn her face into her pillow and her shoulders started to shake with the crying. Regina was holding on tighter.

“Emma, you need to tell me?” With the words, Emma turned in Regina’s arms and looked at her. Her bottom lip trembled as she began to speak.

“There was no one here. It just…” She trailed off as her mind started to reconcile her thoughts and feelings. The pain, the fear and the fact that there was no one here.

“Regina, there was no one here but the fear, it felt like… gods!” She placed her head in one hand, and Regina had to pull it away to look sympathetically at her friend. The tears were back again. “Regina, what is happening to me? Am I crazy? It was like before, when I cracked up, the feelings, the fear, the pain, everything feels so real, but…” She looked to Regina with real concern.

“Emma, what happened last night?”

 

Emma sat up a bit to try to explain something that she did not understand.

“It feels as if it is happening to someone else but I can feel all her emotions and pain?” Regina swallowed.

“And last night what you felt was…” she could not get the word out.

“A rape,” Emma said softly. Regina touched Emma’s face.

“It is alright. We will figure it out, together.” Mary Margaret walked back in with the tea for Emma. She added a few calming tablets to the brew.

“Here you go.” She said to Emma, much more chirpy than what she felt. Regina watched her take the tea and drink, she was happy. She slipped the packet of calming tablets to Mary Margaret before she got up to make the tea. Emma was calming down and slowly slipped into a deep sleep. Regina got up out of bed. She straightened her creased skirt and got back into her heels before she indicated with her head for the Nolan’s to follow her.

 

She walked to Emma’s lounge and opened a cupboard. She took out a glass and poured herself a double scotch. She kept a bottle there since Emma mostly drank beer. There was a bottle of her famous apple cider as well. She swallowed the strong liquor in one gulp and poured herself another. She was standing with her back to David and Mary Margaret waiting for the scotch to kick in. If either of the two people behind her were surprised with her comfort and ease in Emma’s home, they knew better than to comment. When she spoke, there was no doubt as to who was addressing them.

“Neither of you is to speak about this, to anyone.” Mary Margaret started protesting.

“But…” Regina silenced her with a look that told Mary Margaret not to push.

“Is that clear?” The Nolan’s nodded and left. Regina finished her second drink and made a few calls.

 

The mayor would not be available for the next few days. Then she called the one person she did not, in particular, wanted to talk to, her twin. Trina.

Trina’s eyebrow shot up when she noticed the caller ID on her cell. She gave a big sigh before she answered. They might look exactly the same, and share many traits, but they were very different people.

“Regina…” She purred into the phone. Regina immediately rolled her eyes. Gods, she was even worse than Zelena, and that took some doing.

“I need your help, Trina?” For a moment Trina thought she heard wrong.

“You what?” she asked bewildered.

“I need your help please?” Trina was so amazed that she dropped everything. Asked Regina where they should meet. When Regina told her at Emma’s, the disconsolate twin snorted. She often wondered if Regina was blind or dumb, but for today she bit her tongue, she felt Regina’s distress.

 

Regina was pacing on Emma’s porch when Trina stopped behind the Black Mercedes. As she expected, Trina was dressed in all black; her long hair pulled away from her face in a ponytail that hung over her left shoulder, a black Panama hat to the side, completing the look. The moment she looked at Regina she knew what she felt was correct. Regina led the way to Emma’s lounge and poured herself another scotch, while she opened a bottle of red wine to give Trina a glass.

“A bit early Madam Mayor.” She stated with a frown as Regina gave her the glass. She was usually the one to do things like this; Regina was the more composed one, with her business suits, her perfect shoulder length hair, and makeup.

“It is my third one,” Regina replied, and she swallowed this one as well.

“Okay, Gina, out with it!”

Regina sighed and took a seat next to Trina. “We share a bond. A strong bond. If I concentrate, really concentrate, I can feel what you feel. When you travel, I can tell exactly where you are. I feel cold when you are in the North Mountains. We share emotions. I can feel when you are upset, especially when you are angry.” Trina listened.

“Regina, this is not something new, we had this bond since ever.” Regina nodded.

“Do you have it with Zelena?” The frown was back.

“Sometimes, but like you said, only when I concentrate on her and her only.” Regina nodded, she could typically feel when Zelena was up to something. She could feel that with Henry as well, even though he was not biologically her son.

“What about physical pain?” Trina wanted to ask what the twenty questions were about, but with her twin sitting next to her, she could feel her anxiety. She did, however, give Regina an, _are you serious look_.

 

When Regina looked into the same brown eyes, her hand automatically went to her lip; she flicked her finger lightly over the scar. It was Regina’s scar, the dog attacked her, but Trina had the exact same injury. “Now, do you want to tell me what this is about?” Regina knew her twin well enough to know that gossip was not one of her pastimes.

“It’s Emma. She had…”

“An episode again?” Trina finished the sentence. She heard the story about the Sheriff’s breakdown at Granny’s. The tears in Regina’s eyes answered the question. Trina moved closer, she took Regina’s hand and placed it over her heart. She held her sister’s hand in place with her own. “Close your eyes and concentrate on Emma. Envision yourself in her place. How she is laying right now, how she would breathe. What do you feel?” Regina was hit with a flash of fear and pain. She inhaled sharply and clutched her stomach, right where her uterus would be. Trina observed her.

“So do you now believe that what Emma is feeling is real and not some mental disorder?” Regina opened her mouth to ask her twin how she knew what she was thinking, but she closed it again, knowing the answer.

“Okay, so how is it that I can feel her emotions and pain?” Trina wanted to shake her twin. Instead, she answered much less forceful than what she felt.

“You and Emma are close. You share a bond.” Regina frowned, _was it as simple as that_?

“So, twins, sisters, mothers and children and good friends all share this bond?” If she were not so aware of Regina’s distress, she would laugh.

 

“Yes, dear, good friends, that about sums it up.” Trina sarcastically said and finished her wine and kissed Regina on the forehead.

“Call again if I can help some more?” Regina just nodded. Her thoughts were all over the place. _Did Emma have a sister or a twin that she connected with? But why now_? Emma had shared the newspaper article with her about where she was found as a baby. It did not mention a sister.

She got up to go and check on Emma. When Trina helped her connect with Emma, she felt it, the pain that Emma was feeling the anger and the determination, but for some reason, she knew Emma’s essence. The feelings were not hers, of that, the mayor was sure.

 

Regina stayed with Emma for a few days. Unlike Emma, she had a cupboard and hanging space in the blonde's house. She slept over at Emma’s far less than what Emma stayed over at the mansion, and nothing about a few business suits and silk sheets in Emma’s guest room seemed strange to her. It was just what it was. The only difference this time was that she slept in her silk nightie in Emma’s bed, holding her, waking her when she had a nightmare. She found comfort knowing Emma was safe in her arms, it felt different somehow, she felt Emma’s warmth, and she had hoped that her friend felt the same. The only time Regina left Emma was to go to the shop for food, as usual, there were only beer, frozen pizza, and cereal in Emma’s fridge.

 

She also called Mrs. Gold before she left. If anyone could find another _Psychic,_ connection, it would be the bookworm.

Regina smiled at Belle when she walked into the library. “Madam Mayor.” Belle smiled back. “Good day Mrs. Gold.” Regina tried hard not to show how anxious she was. She kept her voice low and even when she spoke to Belle.

“I know I gave you a strange request, but have you found anything?”

“Yes and no.” Regina frowned. “Yes, if you believe in the occult and spiritual possession or fairy tales, no if you only believe in science,” Belle explained.

 

“Spiritual possession? As in The Exorcist?” Belle rolled her eyes. “I know, crazy?”

Regina smiled sweetly again.

“Well, thank you, Belle, for trying. Send my regards to Gideon.”

Regina went back to the house. She was glad to see Emma up and showered. She had shown little interest in anything these last few days.

“Hi,” Regina greeted her as she walked into the kitchen. Emma took the bags from her and started to place them in the fridge.

“You did not have to Regina.” She gave her friend a warm smile.

“I take it you feel a bit better?” Emma indicated that she did and Regina could feel the relief.

“I called David and told him I would be back at work tomorrow.” Regina slowed what she was doing, treading carefully.

“Are you sure? You have quite a few leave days.”

Emma turned and looked Regina in the eyes. Her eyes were different Regina thought.

“Regina, something happened, and it happened twice now. I don’t know what the hell it is, but I am not going to let it take over my life. I need to get back to work.”

 

Regina continued to unpack the bags, passing some of the food to Emma to place in the fridge. “Alright.” It was her own words, but it made her extremely sad. She took a breath to keep the tears away and walked over to Emma. She closed the gap between them and held her friend in her arms. With her heels, she was slightly taller than the Sheriff and Emma could comfortably rest her head between Regina’s neck and shoulder.

 

She felt so safe when Regina held her. When she felt Regina’s hold loosen, she lifted her head and placed a soft kiss on the brunette’s neck. She felt a slight shiver go through Regina’s body and the gooseflesh forming on Regina’s neck where her lips were touching the sensitive skin. She pulled away and thanked Regina again before turning back to her task of packing away groceries.

 

Regina could not move. She was holding her breath, without realizing it. She took a moment to compose herself. _What the hell was that_? She shook her head lightly. She felt light-headed, and her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest. She excused herself before the blonde realized anything was amiss.

 

When she felt calmer again, she phoned Zelena. God, was she going to ask both her sisters for help in one week? She swallowed her pride as she waited for Zelena to answer the call.

“Hello Sis, to what do I owe this honor?” Regina clenched her teeth.

“I need your help Zelena.”

“You need to speak up dear; I could have sworn I just heard you ask for help.” The redhead might not be the best of friends with the twins, but she loved them in her own way.

“That is what I said; I need your help!” Zelena could hear the frustration and the desperation. It was very unlike Regina to ever ask for help.

“Alright, what can I do?” Zelena asked with less venom.

 

Regina explained what she needed, and they made an appointment for the next day when Regina was sure that Emma would already be at work.

Regina dreaded what she knew was coming this night; she would sleep alone in her own bed, missing the soft warmth of her sleeping partner. She started to cook as she would normally. Emma came back to the kitchen with two glasses of wine for them. Normally the Sheriff would have her jacket off, her leather boots placed on one chair, cross at her ankles while she stretched her long frame in another chair. Regina would always point it out and make some comment about her table manners.

 

Today she sat at the breakfast nook with both bare feet on the chair, her head resting sideways on her knees as she watched Regina move in the kitchen as if it was her own. “Gina?” Regina gave her a sideways look indicating that she was listening but busy. “When did you and I become so domesticated?”

The question made Regina stop what she was doing. She thought about it a moment before she continued her task. Robin chose her sister over her and Emma was there day and night to pull her friend through the tragedy. She helped to the extent where Killian got annoyed and asked her to come back home. Before that, Henry got accidentally poisoned and nearly died. At the time they were still cautious of each other. However, Regina would acknowledge that that was most likely they became friends. Then Killian died suddenly, killed by Fiona. When Henry went off to study, they spent all their days together consoling each other. And now this…

 

Regina turned to Emma after she placed something in the oven and closed it. “Well, Miss Swan, as far as I can assess, every time the shit hits the fan.” Emma thought about it for a moment and then laughed. Regina was right. They never faced a single crisis alone. Even when Robin and Killian were with them, they turned to each other for strength. Regina felt the warmth spread through her when she heard Emma laugh. She had wondered if she would ever hear it again.

 

They shared their meal in quiet comfort. After supper, Emma suggested that Regina take a shower, while she cleaned up the kitchen and wash the dishes. Emma thought that she saw utter relief on Regina’s face when she made the suggestion but said nothing. She cleaned up and made her way back to the bedroom where Regina was already sitting under the covers going over some paperwork. She placed the almost full glass next to Regina and sat on the edge of the bed. Regina waited patiently. Emma reached out and took the soft hand into her own, their fingers intertwined. Emma had never before questioned or thought about their very intimate moments.

 

They often had this, where they would hug or like now, not holding hands, but have their fingers locked together. Mary Margaret may have made a crack in Emma’s walls, but it was Regina that tore them down. Regina was one of the few people she trusted entirely, and it only seemed natural that they would have this bond, this intimacy. It gave them both comfort.

“Thank you for everything, for taking care of me.” Regina gave her one of her full charming smiles. “You are most welcome Miss Swan.” Emma shook her head with a grin and got into bed next to Regina. She kissed Regina on the cheek before they fell asleep, this time Emma held Regina, but either way, it felt good.


	4. Yo soy el Oscuro!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter contains reference to the rape of a minor, not too explicit, but very emotional  
> Also, no offense intended towards the BPD, just chose Boston because it was the last place Emma worked.  
> I am certain the BPD is still in the excellent hands of Detective Jane Rizzoli. (LOL)

**Chapter 4**

 

Regina inhaled sharply with admiration when her Sheriff made her way down to the kitchen. _Her Sheriff_? Regina gave herself a mental slap. Emma surely looked like the Sheriff. The boots, the red jacket, her gun and her badge, jip this was Emma Swan, except that Regina knew something had changed. She only hoped that because of their shared bond, she would be the only one to notice.

 

After breakfast, Emma left and Regina called Zelena, she was on her way. Zelena was a bit eccentric and so was her believes. According to Zelena, there was either an herb or some gemstone that could solve all problems. Regina asked her to come and _cleanse_ Emma’s home and do her thing with her rocks. If the request surprised Zelena at all, she never indicated so. She met Regina in front of the house. Regina did not want to witness the cleansing, so she was off to the office. Zelena stopped her.

 

“Here,” she placed two small bottles in Regina’s hand. “Give Emma a few drops every day from both, put it in her coffee or something.” Regina eyed her and asked skeptically.

“What is it?”

“As much as I would like to tell you it is a love potion,” she smirked. “It is an elixir to align her chakras.” Regina wondered for a moment what the hell was wrong with her, was she so desperate to protect Emma that she would go to these measures?

She smiled at her older sister. “Thank you, Zelena.” She beamed back and walked into the house to start her work.

 

Regina spent most of her morning catching up on reports and emails. She called Henry more than once. As before, she did not want to upset him, especially with her having no idea what really happened. The last thing she was about to tell her son, was that his mother experience someone else’s rape. His phone went to voice mail; she left a short message to call her back. She called David and Mary Margaret and asked them both to report any strange behavior that Emma might display, however trivial. Both wanted to know what had happened, but Regina just cut them off, reminding them not to speak about it. She wanted to call Emma for lunch at Granny’s, but she thought that the sheriff would most likely have her hands full on her first day back.

 

Henry only returned her call, when he was in the flat with Neal on Skype, the phone on the speaker. Regina explained that Emma had a little breakdown. Henry started to ask all sorts of questions. Regina tried her best to keep the strange truth from him. The sound of his mother’s voice told him that his other mother was not all right and that whatever happened, was terrible. He looked at Neal in frustration. They needed to do something, they preferably soon.

 

Regina went home before Emma’s shift ended. _Home_? _When did she start to think of this as home_? She shook her head and carried on preparing a meal for them. When Emma walked in the door, she stopped. “Regina!” she called, and the mayor could hear the authority in her voice. She came around the corner wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “What?”

 

The Sheriff’s frame went straight. “ _What_? _What_ do you ask? What the hell is that smell?” Regina frowned, fear slowly crept up on her as she saw Emma’s anger. “I am cooking a roast chicken.” Emma looked at her as if she was daft.

“Really?” Emma asked intensely as she always asked that question. She folded her arms over her chest, making sure the copper sheriff’s badge was showing.

“Madam Mayor, have you been smoking weed in our home?” Regina opened her mouth to start protesting when she realized what Emma was referring to. She composed herself.

“Sheriff Swan, you should know me better than that.” She gave Emma one of her under the eyelashes sideways looks with a stunning smile. Emma almost forgot what she asked beneath that look. She swallowed. An eyebrow up asked the question. Regina grinned, looked down for a moment before she answered.

“No Miss Swan, I most certainly did not smoke weed in our home.”

 

She spoke the words with intent. That silky husky voice made the blood rush to Emma’s head. When the woman talked like that, she could get away with anything. She also realized what she asked Regina. _When did this become our home_? Emma swallowed. Regina continued to give her that look. She wanted to ask the question, but gods, she could not move. Regina moved. She slid her hands into the red collar of Emma’s jacket. She pulled the jacket down from Emma, keeping her eyes captured the entire time. Regina continued to speak with her husky voice, only now it was lower. She could see the effect it had on Emma.

“While I hang up your jacket, why don’t you go and put your… _gun_  in the safe?” She purred, pressing her lips together to suppress a full smile, but the small smile and the intense voice made Emma turn to the study without saying another word. Emma stood dumbstruck in the study.

 

 _Did Regina just use the seductive trick on her and did she fall for it?_   _Fuck Swan, she's your friend!_  She mumbled to herself as she took her gun out of the holster and locked it in the safe. _What the hell is wrong with you, since when do you fall for Regina like that_?

When Emma returned to the kitchen, there was an open beer waiting for her. She swallowed half of it before she could look at Regina again. “All right, spill it Madam Mayor?”

 

Regina turned, took a sip of her wine and leaned forward towards Emma. “I will tell you, but you have to promise me that not only would you never tell another soul, you also will not laugh at me?” She bit her lower lip.  Her eyes were shining with mischief. “Regina…” Emma’s tone was a warning. Regina stood straight and started to tell the tale. From the moment, she called for help from Trina, Belle, and Zelena. She tried to explain Zelena’s cleansing methods to Emma. Emma sat wide-eyed through the entire tale.

“So just to recap?” She asked. “You phoned your sisters, both of them in one week? Then you left the more crazy of the two in our home to burn weed in it so that I can’t be attacked any longer by whatever bond I may or may not have to _someone_?”

 

Regina stared at her. “Well, Miss Swan, if you put it _that_ way….” Emma could not hold it any longer. Her eyes were already tearing up. Her face was almost numb from keeping the laughter in. She shook her head and burst out with the most carefree laugh Regina had ever heard. It made her all warm inside.  Emma was starting to have that effect on her more and more... “You promised not to laugh!” Regina fake scolded. Emma wiped her eyes and looked at her friend with a bright smile.

“You do realize how insane this is? In fact, between all the stunts you and I have pulled over the years, this one tops them all!” She wiped her eyes again.

“Oh, no no no,” Regina came back. “You chopping down my tree, still tops the log.” Emma laughed at the memory. It seemed a lifetime ago.

 

They talked the whole night through about their relationship, how it started, how they hated each other, how they became friends. They moved the conversation to the lounge after supper. Emma was stretched out, as usual, drinking a beer while Regina was sitting opposite her on the single couch, her legs tugged in under her, leaning her head on her hand while resting on the armchair. Her eyes were dark, Emma thought. She flicked the one side of her hair back, exposing the slender neck as her head was leaning on her hand. Emma swallowed and looked away. Regina was so tuned into Emma’s moods and body language that she immediately felt the blonde withdraw.

 

She placed her glass of wine on the side table and walked over to Emma. With each move, Regina could feel the heat radiating off Emma. For a moment Regina was scared, she was also perplexed. She sat down next to her friend, Emma could not look at her. “Emma?” She looked up.  Regina saw the same confusion in the green eyes. Regina touched her soft cheek with the back of her own fingers. She could not stop herself. Emma leaned into her touch. The warmth of Regina’s fingers was tingling on her skin. Emma could feel so much from just that small touch. She closed her eyes because the emotions were too much. A single tear made, its way down her cheek and Regina lightly wiped it. She could hear her own heart beating fast; she desperately wanted to kiss this woman. She did not know why. She just knew she wanted to kiss Emma; she wanted to soothe her, to take all her pain away. She wanted to hold her in her arms and never let her go. She captured Emma’s face in her hand, forcing her to look up. She could see the pulse point on Emma’s neck beating just as fast as her own heart. The look Emma gave her was the same as what she felt, longing and confusion. Regina closed the gap between them slightly, Emma’s eyes on her questioning. Emma found her voice and softly asked: “What is happening between us?” Regina gave her a small, sad smile. “I don’t know.” And with that, she closed the gap and captured Emma’s lips.

 

At the touch of their lips both felt a surge of warmth and electricity rushing through their bodies. Regina just meant to explore Emma’s lips. A small kiss, just to know. The sensation was overwhelming. When her tongue asked permission to enter, it was granted. Emma moaned into Regina’s mouth and pulled them even closer together. One hand snaked into Regina’s hair taking hold of it, demanding more. Regina’s senses were in overdrive. As Emma tugged hard at the brunette’s hair, she left a throaty moan. Regina thought she would have an orgasm right there. She pulled back. Both women were breathing fast. They looked at each other as to understand what just happened. They both had kissed and been kissed before, but the moment they only shared felt entirely different from any other kiss. “That was…” Emma tried. “Yes, it was...” Regina gave her a small smile. Her breathing was a bit calmer. Her mind was swimming. All she wanted to do was to kiss those soft lips of Emma once more. Her hunger was too great. However, she knew if she kissed this woman again, she would also tear her clothes off. After that kiss, she did not think that either of them could emotionally handle anything additional.

They sat with their own thoughts for a while, each woman trying to make sense of the attraction and power they were feeling during the kiss. Emma could feel so much. This was desire, wonder, and deep, deep attraction. _When did this happen_? _When did they cross that line between friendship and desire? Was it all right, is this what they both wanted? What did it mean_? Regina had a tad of fear in her. “Emma?” The green eyes captured hers. “Are we,” she motioned between them. “Alright?”

 

 _That would be the question_ Emma thought _. You just kissed your best friend, who happens to be a woman. Felt more in one kiss that you had in a six-year marriage_. Emma smiled. “Yeah, we are alright.” Regina released a breath she did not realize that she was holding.

“Okay, well, I better get going.” She did not look at Emma, she did not want to see the disappointment on her face, but the gods only knew, there was no way she could sleep in the same bed as the blonde tonight. Emma felt an array of emotions, the least of which was disappointment. It had been more than a week since the _attack_ and Regina had been there, sleeping next to her, keeping her safe. Emma knew they needed a little space from each other to figure out what just happened. “Okay, I will speak to you tomorrow?”

 

Regina gave her a small nod while she stepped into her high heel shoes, bringing them eye to eye again. Then there was that moment. That moment where they both wanted to hold each other, the moment they wanted to kiss each other. It was Emma that closed the gap, her breath heavy. She wrapped her arms around Regina and held her for a moment.

“Thank you, Gina, for taking such good care of me.” She gave Regina a chased kiss on her temple before releasing her. Regina smiled and said good night. As Emma closed the door, she leaned against it with her forehead and one hand up. On the other side, Regina was lying back against the door, a single tear making its way down her face. She wiped it angrily, got into her car and drove off.

 

David watched his Sherriff carefully the next day. There was something different about her today, not a bad something, just different. “I’m going for a patrol.” He called to Emma. She waved him off absent-mindedly. As soon as he got to the car, he called the Mayor.

“Good morning, Deputy,” Regina answered friendly. David took a moment.

“Madam Mayor?” He really wanted to ask her if she was feeling all right. There was a lightness in her voice that he had never heard before.

“Yes, Deputy?” David scratched his head.

“You said I should call if Emma was behaving strangely?” She replied yes, and sounded more like the Mayor.

“Well, she is acting really weird this morning.”

“Weird as in how Deputy?” Jip, this was more the Mayor.

“Well, if I did not know any better I would say she is acting like she has fallen in love. She is grinning like the cat that ate the canary, and she is humming.”

“Humming?”

“Yes, humming, some love song tune.” Regina smiled brightly at the other end. She was feeling the same way. She already had more than one strange look because of it.

“Well, thank you, Deputy Nolan, for letting me know.” She ended the call. David stood with the phone in his hand as if he did not know what to do with it. He shook his head and got into the department car to do an inspection round.

 

**Boston**

Henry threw his phone on the couch. He was dispirited. It has been two and a half months since Gina had been incarcerated, for a crime he now knows she did not commit. He was running out of options. He had tried in the last month to set up a meeting with her. He was not her lawyer, he was not on her visitor list, not that he thought there would be anyone. He tried to get to her through her trial lawyer, but everywhere he asked for help, it just seemed that a door slammed in his face. Neal was doing the same but through other channels. It just seemed that once Gina was jailed, all options became less.

“Do I have to get my law degree, before I can see her!” Neal understood the frustration he heard in his friend’s voice via their link. He wrote her a letter every week. He committed to continue until she answered.

 

**Framingham**

Gina made her way through the hall; it was her first meal she would share in the common hall after the attack. She had been in the hospital for two weeks and then transferred to the prison infirmary. One of the reasons why she had a place in Framingham was due to her age. The administrators thought that she would be safer in a medium security prison and that once she turned of age, she would be transferred to a State prison to serve her life sentence. Yet, here she was, a few yellow bruises still visible on her face. A new scar under her left eye, running from the side of her eye to the bottom, making a sickle moon. She was a little thinner, but she walked straight shoulders square. If anyone of these bitches thought they would get close to her again, they were mistaken.

She heard muttering in Spanish as she made her way to the back of the hall. When she finally made out what the whispers were, she stopped. All eyes were on her as she stood in the middle of the hall. The silence met her and even though she looked straight ahead, she knew everyone watched her. When she spoke up, her voice was raspy, and a little husky. “No, no, el Diablo. Yo soy el Oscuro!” There was a gasp amongst the various Spanish groups. There were also more than a few that made the cross over their chests before they watched her walk on. Gina could smell the fear. It amused her that they would fear the Dark One more than the Devil himself. Almost every culture or religion had a dark one. A Soul that took a curse with all the darkness of the world, walking the earth to seek out and take the souls of the most evil. Gina was relieved at the stirring.  _Good, fear will keep them away!_  She thought as she sat down.

Gina could not remember most of her time in the hospital. She remembered little from the moment she heard a guard calling for the medical team. But every moment prior to that, she remembered clearly. She had been living with it, dreaming it, dreading it over and over. She knew that was the reason for everyone’s fear. She should not have survived the attack. No one should have…

**Framingham, six weeks before**

 

Gina did not notice that one after the other woman was leaving the showers until it was too late. Suddenly she was alone.  All her senses kicked in. Gina dressed quickly. She rubbed her right wrist, a habit, ever since the bracelet that was always there had been removed. She was ready for anything, she knew as soon as she turned the corner there was a blind spot to the security cameras. Gina was ready. She knew what was coming, her hands were free, she left her toiletries and towel in the dressing area.

The first attack came from the front, and Gina dodged the hit as she moved her upper body back. She grabbed the fisted arm. The woman was over-committed in the hit and off balance. Gina used the motion to slam her face first, into a wall. She had to squat down for the second fist and elbowed the woman hard in the ribs. She had to take the hit from the third attacker. It landed on her right cheek, but as she moved from under the hit, she grabbed the woman by her hair and slammed her head into the other wall a few times. The other two recovered somewhat and came at her again. Gina grew up on the streets. She was smart, very smart. She knew every soft spot in the human body. She grabbed one by the throat with a vice grip under her jaw, next to the trachea. She struggled to breathe and while in the panicked state Gina was hitting her just where the rib cage came together, hitting the air out of her lungs. Gina could see the panic rising and gripped tighter. The other one was on her back, clawing at Gina’s left arm to loosen the iron grip. Gina was waiting. She felt the woman on her back move, Gina stopped the hitting and back headed the one on her back right on the nose. She spun around and gave the nosebleed attacker a sideways kick in the stomach.

That was when a sharp pain dragged itself over her right arm and another shot through her left side. There was another one. For the first time that the fight started Gina panicked. Not because she had been cut and stabbed, but because now she had no idea how many there were. She crunched down at the stabbing pain. When the attacker came close for another stab, Gina stood up fast and hid her with her head on the end of her jaw. She knew that with the force she stood up the woman would most likely end up with a concussion. It was then that the leader came out of the shadows. She was big; she towered over Gina that was already small for a fourteen-year-old. The woman hit her in the face, repeatedly. When Gina fell, she knew the fight was over. She tried to get up. She kicked out, slammed her fists into anything, it could connect with. But the big bitch kicked her in the face, her stomach and then eventually, right between her legs below the pubic bone.

With the kick and the pain flooded through her body, she was trying to catch her breath and was utterly unable to scream. She felt her arms being held above her head as another one ripped her shirt off, her bra and panties were literally cut off with the makeshift knife. Gina was breathing hard. She knew what was about to happen. She wanted to beg, to scream then she felt a strength, surge through her like a light energy that was pure defiant retaliation. It was strong and gave Gina new fight. She kicked out again, fighting again, her dark side refused to give in.

She needed to get up and fight back, but she was held down by four women, much larger than she was. As the big one plunged her fingers invasively into Gina’s body, the first scream came. One finger from the big bitch would have been too much for Gina’s body to take, but this bitch was assaulting her with three fingers. As Gina’s virginity ripped she let out a mind shattering scream.

“Oh fuck, so I’m yo first, and now yo ass belong to me, yo will do what I tell yo, yo feel me yo skinny white bitch.” The screaming continued.  Somewhere in the back of her mind, Gina wondered where the guards were. One by one they took her and when the last one was done the big butch sliced Gina’s cheek, just under her eye.

“Something to remind yo of me baby.”

The screaming had long since stopped; there was no fight or voice left in her. She closed her eyes, hoping it would be for the last time.

 

Gina missed count. It was only then that the search started. When one of the younger guards found her and called for the medical team over the radio, she had no idea what to do. There was blood everywhere. The doctor on call just gave her one look and called a medical emergency. They placed Gina on a gurney and wheeled away. The scene was cordoned off. It was now a crime scene.

 

Mellissa or Mighty Mel as they called her, and her crew walked away from the scene thinking it would be like any of their other rapes. No one ever talked. The problem was this one was different. The victim fought back. The doctor called a medical emergency. It became a crime scene. One that would fall under the jurisdiction of the BPD. Before the morning count, Mellissa and her crew were locked up in County jail. The Detective in charge kept a pristine crime scene. Every spot of blood was marked, filmed, a sample taken, then bagged and tagged.   The call to the hospital unit was clear, full rape kit.   The victim’s clothes and any scrapping under the nails to be bagged.

Mellissa’s biggest mistake was that they did not clean themselves up. They never had resistance before. Her crew was never hit back. They never got blood on themselves before. Through the adrenaline rush, not only did they take longer than usual the time ran out, without them realizing it. It took one walk-through of the highest-ranking guard and the Detective to pick out Melissa and her crew. They were processed by the CSI team before they could even blink.  
There was no doubt in Detective Jamie Pierce’s mind that the DNA from the victim and the DNA from these women would match up. She looked at their faces. The little mite had put up one hell of a fight. Jamie just hoped she would make it. There was so much blood on the floor.

 

When Jamie first got the call, she was annoyed. When the department heard, rape, female and Framingham in one sentence, she was the one who received the call. It was only when she heard the victim’s name that she got up and ready. Every cop in Boston knew the name, Gina Snow. On a personal level, Jamie thought the case was botched by the detective in charge. She remembered when he reported on the Snow case the next morning at the briefing. Open and shut, he said. He promised the paperwork on the Captain's desk by the end of the day. No murder case took just one day to close. Now she had the opportunity to look deeper into the Snow case.

 

**Framingham present day**

When Gina sat down with her tray of food, the few women at the table left. She sat with her back to the majority of the women. She showed no fear. Her back was a taunt to anyone stupid enough to take on the challenge. She was raped, beaten, stabbed and scarred by inmates far bigger than her, not to mention five against one. She should not have survived, but she did.


	5. A law student and a Boston cop

**Chapter 5**

Gina was aware of the shadows following her. When she moved, the guard moved with her. The Warden was keeping her house clean. The two guards that were on duty in the area of the showers, on the level where Gina’s assault took place had to answer for their whereabouts. It turned out they took a bribe to be somewhere else. That was the reason no one came to Gina’s rescue as her screams echoed through the empty halls. Their dismissal came as no surprise to anyone.

The doctor at the hospital, assessed that through her screaming, Gina caused so much damage to her vocal cords that her voice would most likely stay hoarse. Jamie was furious when she heard that, her mind went to a dark place, wondering how bad it was for the kid to have had screamed to that point. Everyone that worked on the case or worked with Gina felt the same. It took her ten days before she could whisper anything.

 

Now she was back, a shadow and fear keeping her safe. She cursed whatever gods chose to listen at the time. She was fourteen, and she had had, more shit and abuse in fourteen years than what anyone deserved in a lifetime. She always wondered why. _Did it have something to do with the bracelet? The tattoos that were on her body_? She did not have the answers.

Jamie kept working the case, the Snow case, all of it, the murder and the rape. She spoke to any and every one. When Gina’s Social Service’s file landed on her desk, she was beside herself.

 

A six-year-old Gina Snow was wondering the streets of Boston when someone took her to the police department. Before she knew it, Social Services had her case. The six-year-old had no memory, other than her name. She seemed to be well fed, and the dress she had on was clean even though it appeared unsuited for a child. That and the bracelet on her hand, made them think that she was part of a child sex-slave syndicate.

 

Jamie looked at the bracelet. It was beautiful. The bracelet seemed like a curved Ouroboros with a number of the inscriptions on it. From the bracelet to the ring, on her ring finger was a delicate chain forming the infinity sign, the ring had the same rune symbols as the bracelet. It was beautiful and powerful. Gina removed the bracelet only when it became necessary after the arrest. According to Social Services, they tried to get rid of the bracelet, but nothing could cut through the steel, and a young Gina did not know how to remove it. Besides the bracelet, the only other thing she had was a Chinese puzzle box about the size of a Rubix cube that she did not know how to open.

 

Jamie saw that both items were the only personal effects she had listed in her prison inventory. The name on the bracelet was Chernobog, which meant Dark God; it was Slavic, though the writing was in Celtic Saxon runes. She had a protection spell tattooed on her lower back also written in Celtic, Saxon. Dragon covered most of her back and on her shoulders and upper arms were different signs. All these tattoos were on the six-year-old. Jamie wondered how anyone could do that to a child. There was minimal mention of the symbols in her file. Someone just could not give a shit to research any of it, so Jamie did.

 

She researched and looked up every symbol. They were all for protection, for warding off the darkness. _Then why was the inscription Chernobog on the bracelet_? The Slavic and Celtic, Saxon was another mystery until she came across the Dark One sword.

The sword, discovered two decades before near the L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, a now acknowledged Viking settlement, was notorious. The dark handled sword, cast to the hilt in a solid block of granite. The inscription on the top of the stone was in Anglo Saxon, roughly translated it meant; _Beware of the Dark One curse. If the sword is pulled from this place, darkness would consume all of man_. The words were written all over the block in different languages, from Gaelic and Latin to Slavic. The symbols and language use dated the stone back to the sixth century. Its discovery marked a breakthrough in archaeology. The sword in the stone depicted as the most important discovery since the Rosetta Stone.

 

Linguists were studying it, Arthurian scholars were forming new theories. That this sword was the opposite of Excalibur. The search started all over again for the mystical sword. The one thing that was clear was that the Vikings discovered it after their invasion of Briton and deemed it important enough to ship the heavy stone with them when they settled in the Americas, nearly four centuries later.

 

The sword in the stone was a big attraction at the Smithsonian, a few mob leaders, and gangsters tried to pull the sword, deeming themselves the Dark One. The most significant part of the sword in the stone; there were no tool marks on it. The granite was smooth, and the inscriptions were clear. The sword was to the millimeter exactly in the middle. Somehow, someone cast a sword into a solid block of granite, weighing nearly a ton. The secret of its origin, how it existed and the possibility of advanced technology; held the same mystery as that of the Crystal Skulls.

 

The information she gathered gave Jamie no leads and just added to the confusion. A young Gina landed in a mental institution for quite some time. Her memories were slowly breaking through. She was looking for her friend Neal; he was supposed to take care of her. They were from Misthaven. Because she killed the Black Fairy, they had to run away. _The Black Fairy_! Jamie went through the police files from the murder again. Part of the dossier was a transcript of her interview. There it was.

Detective: “You admitted to killing the Black Fairy. Is that the street name for the shop owner Mr. Pillay?”  
Accused: “No Sir.”

Detective: “No what? You didn’t kill this Black Fairy, or no it was not the street name for Mr. Pillay that you killed point blank?”

Accused: “I killed the Black Fairy, but I did not kill Mr. Pillay.”

Jamie scanned through other transcripts and interviews. Every single one said more or less the same.

Arresting Officer: “The accused was found with a nine mm. revolver in her hand. On request, she dropped the weapon. While being placed under arrest and cuffed she kept repeating the phrase, _I killed the Black Fairy_. She continued to do so even after her Maranda Rights were read to her.”

 

Jamie went back to the psych report, what she read brought tears to her eyes. They medicated her and gave her shock treatment. The diagnoses were manic depression, and after six months of treatment, she stopped all stories of Misthaven, princesses, and fairies.

What Jamie read was that they just scared a lost six-year-old out of an ordinary child fantasy. Only one doctor wrote something that made sense.

“The patient most likely suffered from some trauma, caused by the separation from her parents that she found safety in a Fairytale story. Something her young mind could process instead of the severe trauma.”

Jamie made up her mind she needed to speak to Gina Snow.

 

Jamie worked the Snow case on the side. She had a few open files that needed attention. According to her Lieutenant, the Snow rape was resolved just like the Snow murder. The five accused would stand trial for Statutory Rape with aggravating circumstances. Their sentence would most likely be added to their current terms, and there was no way in hell that any of them would be placed anywhere other than a max state prison. She made an appointment for later that day to see the Warden and to have an interview with Gina. The routine follow up, she told the Warden.

 

She waited for the Warden in her office. She felt like being in the principal’s office. The smartly dressed woman came in, apologized because she was late and went straight to business.

“Detective, what can I do for you?”

“Warden, I am just wrapping up the case and would like one more interview with the victim?” The Warden saw nothing wrong with that and made the call to bring the inmate to an interview room. “How is she?” Jamie knew she was back in Gen pop for two weeks now.

“Surprisingly good. She has been accepted into our education program, she started to exercise, other inmates seem to leave her alone, oh and she has been receiving letters.”

“Letters? Who is writing to her?” Jamie asked.

 

The Warden took out one of Neal’s letters and handed it to Detective Pierce. “One a week arrives, and they are all more or less the same.  After the first one, Gina refused to receive any more.” Jamie nodded while reading the information. She wrote the names down of the two men. Jamie would look them up as soon as she got back to the station. The return address was Storybrook Main. She had never heard of the place. The best news in the letter was that they wanted to help.

“Thank you, Warden.” Jamie got up and shook hands with the woman, before returning to the interview room.

 

When she walked in Jamie noticed the difference in body language first. It made her sad, she has seen it in many women. They stayed victims or not.  Some women came out stronger on the other side. Gina chose to be stronger. It made Jamie dejected that a fourteen-year-old girl all of a sudden was grown up. “Gina,” she said softly. Gina turned to look at the Detective. She got a small smile. They have spoken before.  Gina liked the Detective. Jamie had learned that with Gina you did not dawdle. You just got straight to it.

“Warden says you are doing better, are you?” Gina indicated yes.

“I have been looking at your other file, which is why I am here.” Jamie sighed when she got no reaction. “Look, Gina, I am not the only one trying to help you, but you have to talk to me, tell me the full story?”

Gina looked at her as if she was contemplating if this was worth her breath. “Detective Pierce, I have told my story, several times. In fact, that asshole dick just made up his mind that I was guilty. I would be surprised if other than fingerprints from the gun and maybe ballistics, that there was any other test or investigation.” Jamie knew besides that. There was nothing else. “Do you really want to go down that road, taking on your own?”

 

Jamie nodded, and Gina shook her head. She sat back in her chair, arms crossed. “What would you like to know Detective?” Jamie just had one question, and she would know if Gina was lying. “Did you shoot and kill Mr. Pillay?” Gina looked at her, looking for an answer that might give her some hope that Jamie was seeking for the truth.

“No Detective, I did not.”

“Do you have any proof?” Gina smiled.

“Do a GSR and blood spatter analysis on my clothes? Then we can talk again,” Gina called the guard and walked out of the room.

 

Around seven o’clock that night Jamie knocked on apartment 702. The door opened, she was met with a friendly face of a young man. The detective held out her badge and asked if she could come in. The man was younger than what she expected. Henry looked at her for a moment. He stepped aside and let her in.

“Can I get you something to drink Detective?”

“Jamie Pierce.” She introduced herself and added the _no thank you_. Henry sat on one couch, Jamie sat opposite him. She took one look at the apartment to realize it looked much like hers’. Documents, photo’s interviews, all about Gina Snow.

“How do you know Gina Snow?” she asked. Henry stared at her. Whatever question he was expecting, that was not it. She smiled, his body language told her one thing, whoever Gina was to him, he was very protective of her. It really was all she needed to know. They were on the same side.   
“Alright, then why is your friend Neal White writing her a letter every week, offering your help through your charity?” Still nothing.

“Fine, I will go first. I have been assigned Gina’s case.”

 

Henry frowned. “She has no lawyer, and there for her case would not have been reopened.”

“Henry, no, another case.” She felt bad that she would be the one to tell him the story. “Gina had been assaulted two months ago, and I was designated the principal investigator.”

“Assaulted? But the prison….” Henry stopped; he went pale and then promptly threw up.

He wiped his mouth and looked at her. “It was bad wasn’t it?” Jamie just nodded. She would show him the detailed later. There were tears in his eyes, and he looked much younger now. He recalled his mother’s phone call, from a few weeks before. He knew at the time that whatever happen to Emma, was bad, but this… This was a horror for both of them…

 

Jamie watched the reaction. This affected him badly; this was not just a charity case for him. “Were you in any of the same foster homes as her?” Henry shook his head.

“So what is your relation to her?” Henry looked at her.

“Does it matter why I am doing this?”

Jamie shook her head. “No, I suppose not. But I need to know what you know. It is the only way I can help her if I have all the information.” Henry nodded.

“I just need to drink some water.” It was all Henry said before he left and went to clean himself up. He had to call his mother.

It gave Jamie time to look at all the information there was on Gina. Jamie could see from the evidence that they had gathered, that they have been searching for Gina, for quite some time. They were slowly putting information together for an appeal. Jamie looked through the file, even with the information she had, the case would be very circumstantial. They needed more.

“Why did you highlight this? She pointed to a section in the appeal file.

“I think she did something to help her case. The cops reported that she hacked something from a policing terminal.”

Jamie smiled, she was ready to go and talk to Gina again.

 

A few days later, Gina was looking at her visitors. They explained everything to her, what they had, the new evidence.  They trusted that this would be enough for an appeal.  _Really?_  She thought to herself,  _is this my best chance? A law student and a Boston cop?_  There was something familiar about the so-called lawyer, but she could not place him.

 

“You will need to get a real lawyer, no offense.” Henry smiled at her.

“I already have someone that will take your case pro-Bono. We just need a…”

“A smoking gun.” Gina finished the sentence for him. He smiled at her.

He seemed like a nice guy, but the pleasant guy was not enough to convince her to trust either of them. She had what they needed, but it was all she had, it would get her off the hook and out of this hellish shithole. The question was could they be trusted?

 

“Why are you helping me, Henry?” He knew this was his only shot. He needed to convince her of his intentions.

“Because I believe you.” She frowned at him. “I believe that you killed the Black Fairy, but not Mr. Pillay.” She looked intently into his eyes. He was not lying.

“Fine,” Gina said.

“I need you to understand something without question, Mr. Mills, if you fuck me over, I will come after you and everyone you care about. Do I make myself clear?” Henry nodded.

She asked for a pen and wrote down an email address and a password. “You were correct. I hacked something in the police station. They left me alone for about five minutes, it that was all I needed. I downloaded the CCTV feed from Mr. Pillay’s shop to my Cloud. I was waiting the entire time for the cops to look at the footage to see that I did not kill him, but the Detective in charge just did not give a shit.” She had a bitter taste in her mouth, and she could feel her throat hurting again from speaking so much. “So my knight in shining armor. My life is now in your hands.”

 

As Jamie and Henry got back to his apartment, they looked at the download. Jamie stared at the laptop. It was the second time they had looked at the CCTV footage. The anger in her was overwhelming. She could not believe that a veteran detective did such a shitty investigation that no one even looked at the tapes, what was more, her defense counsel did not believe her and did not watch the tapes.

 

Jamie thought about what the young girl had been through since her arrest. It made her sick, but she and Henry now had the proof they needed. Gina was nowhere near the counter when the assailant shot Mr. Pillay. Her only crime was that she picked up the disregarded gun before she ran out of the shop. The worst part of the entire case was that Gina had told this story to both the police and her defense counsel. A police unit caught her a few blocks away from the store with the murder weapon in her hands, confessing that she had killed the Black Fairy. Murder weapon and confession. What else did they need? They charged Gina with first-degree murder, tried her and sent her to a lifetime in prison.

 

Henry and Jamie took what information they had to a Lawyer that said that he would help. He looked at everything and cursed. Usually, he defended people that have been guilty more often than not. It felt moral to represent someone that for a change was not guilty. He and the BPD had a long-standing feud and this time he was going to ride them. He explained to them what he would do, beginning with filing for an appeal. It was going to take some time, for now, his client had to stay alive, he would get her out. He went to see Gina, explained everything to her and got a new statement from her. For the first night in what seemed forever, Gina slept that night without any nightmares.


	6. Lead the way, Madam Mayor…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of F/F fluff

**Chapter 6**

 

Regina was watching Emma faithfully; it was near impossible to get the woman out of her mind ever since they kissed, but both kept a respectable distance from each other. It was as if there was a silent agreement between the two. That their friendship was far more important than whatever there might have been between the two of them. They gave each other space for a few months before they sort of fell back into their routine of eating together a few nights a week. Neither ever slept over any longer. However, they got their weak moments, moments in which the two women knew no one was watching and despite their silent agreement, would give each other a little taste of the thing they refused to actually share.

 

Emma looked up from where she was enjoying her cocoa in Granny’s dinner. Her eyes met Regina’s. The look said it all; Emma did not even try to disguise her hunger. Regina felt her insides stir. Her chest was heaving up and down, and Emma glanced at the open shirt where just a slight curve of the olive skin was visible. She licked her lips unconsciously, and Regina felt the heat rush through her.

Ruby looked from the one to the other. The tension between them was tangible. In fact, the entire town was watching them. Whenever they were in each other’s company, the people around them could feel the tension. Everyone was holding their breaths; it was like a storm brewing between them, all awaiting the rain. The last time the Mayor and the Sheriff went head to head with each other, it was bad. Very few people, like Ruby and Archie, thought that the tension was something entirely different. If most folks cared to pay more attention to them, they would realize that this time it was something so much more. For Emma and Regina, it was simple. These feelings were lust; it was the only reasonable conclusion. They both had their true love experience, they were close enough to understand each other, and therefore there was no question in their minds that this was lust, not love. Without a doubt, they both were enjoying it, even though there was this silent agreement of not taking it further.

 

Emma scooped the cream on top of the cocoa with her finger while still looking at Regina and slowly licked it off. Regina closed her eyes for a fraction of a second, her mouth slightly open as a shiver hit her body. She shot Emma one of her up and down coquettish looks, flirting through her lashes and this time Emma shivered. Emma smiled softly at her. _Gods, it was going to be a very long day_ she thought to herself. At least Henry was coming home for the summer in a week, and Emma knew it would give them both something to do other than playing this dangerous game. The thrill alone was exciting.

 

Henry was packing his stuff for the summer to stay in Storybrook. His nerves stretched to the limit. If he did not miss, home so much, he would remain in Boston to see what happens with Gina’s case. He knew it would still be a few months. There were so many things to do. The idea was that Neal would start to get a place ready for Gina in Storybrook. They all knew Gina would not be going back into the system after this. It also became apparent to Henry that Gina only remembered bits and pieces of their past.

 

When Henry asked her about Neal, she answered that Neal was her imaginary friend. Jamie showed him the psych file. He became downhearted for the young girl. Henry tried so hard not to be angry with the wrong people. How was he going to explain to Neal that Gina may not remember him? The truth was that some days he blamed all the grownups in Storybrook for what happened to Gina, gods they should have known…

 

For ordinary people, the questions were: “What were you doing when the Challenger exploded or where were you on 9/11?” For them the question always was; _where were you when the Black Fairy’s curse struck?_ Accept, only he and Neal could remember the answer to the problem because they were not cursed the second time. If he had known where Gina was when the curse struck, things might have been so much different. _Was that the pinnacle point_? _The Black Fairy’s curse, or when the Savior broke the curse by believing? Alternatively, was it the moment that mother and son faced each other and changed fate? Creating a new Dark One and a most powerful one at that. Was it the moment he kissed his mother, and they all went back to the Enchanted Forest or was it the six years they fought against the Black Fairy, trying to protect all the Realms from her dark magic_?

 

All he knew was the way the story ended; everyone consulted on the decision. Queen Elsa from Ardendale, the four witches of Oz, Tiger Lilly and Gregor, Gregor took over the lost boys after Pan and Felix died, they represented Wonderland and, Edward Hyde from the World of untold stories, and of course Snow White of the White Kingdom. With support from the Blue Fairy, King Thomas, and Frederik. In the end, they voted. All the Kingdoms and all the Story Realms voted the same. The Dark Curse must be reenacted. They must go back to the land without magic and defeat Fiona there. The unanimous decision made. A decision that sealed Gina’s fate forever. Henry looked at the last page of their story again. The Savior whispered the last word of the curse as she cried, helpless watching the swirls of black energy consuming the new Dark One. The last sentence of the book.

 

 _The whisper_ , Henry believed to be the key to break the curse, only one person knew what the Savior said that day.  Neil could not remember the Black Fairy’s curse; he just remembered his young life in the Enchanted Forest. He remembered that last day when the Black Fairy struck again. He remembered the moments of chaos; he remembered what Emma asked him. The curse had been activated, so much planning to make sure that everyone would be safe, there was no option other than the one Emma took. At the same time, Neil jumped through the portal, Henry opened The Author door, ensuring that at least two of them would escape the curse and remember.

 

Henry tried to tell him what Storybrook was like with the first curse. Smaller, understandable. The town now consisted of six Story Realms, each one saved and created by the new Dark Curse, to escape the Dark One that was now dead. Had Emma not add the final ingredient, if she had waited just a few minutes more, none of this would have ever happened. Some days it felt like he failed all the Kingdoms and all the Realms. It was his burden to carry, and as a Prince of the White Kingdom, he conceded.

 

Henry found the perfect way to travel, he drove the yellow Bug through The Author door and opened it again just before the town line. Hours of travel cut down to seconds. When the Bug crossed the town line, he felt it. It was like stepping into another world even though Emma created the town line to be crossed. Fairy folks could go outside, but they always came back after a while, the curse ensured it. People from the non-magic realm could come to Storybrook. It made the town seem a little more _normal_.

 

The VW Bug stopped in front of Granny’s. His entire family was there, all the Charming’s and the Mills. It was on days like this that Henry wished Mary Margaret and David would remember that Neal was their son. For the few years Neal got back with them, he had been very grateful.

Like himself, Henry was following the various information that took him to Boston. When two people are looking for the same person, you are bound to bump into each other. Neal recognized Henry. As he aged very little, while he still looked twenty-two, he was nearly thirty years old. Neal was thirteen. He had been searching for Gina for four years already.

 

Surrounded by his mothers, who fussed far too long about him while all he wanted was one of Granny’s burgers and speak to Neal. However, it was his first day back, so he indulged it. He and Neal exchanged a warm hug, having a short conversation with their eyes.  Neal set off to go to school. He and Henry would be able to spend more time together over the weekend. Neal had good news. He knew Henry did as well. They did not talk too much the night before knowing he would see his nephew in the morning.

 

To Henry, it felt as if his entire summer somehow was planned for him. Both his mothers’ acted animated, more than one person observed it. As if they both noticed, they reverted to the Sheriff and the Mayor. They went to their separate offices. They would all meet up again at Granny’s for supper.

 

Emma was in a mood when she got to her office. She took the keys of one of the cruisers and set out for patrols in some of the other areas in Storybrook. Emma often surprised her Deputies and Officers with these visits to keep them on their toes. She knew what caused the mood swing. They hugged Henry together.

 

Together as they have been for many years, but their arms connected behind his back. They held on to each other. When they let go of him, their hands entangled slightly, Emma stopped breathing for a moment. It has been months since the kiss, but if she closed her eyes, she could feel Regina’s soft, perfect mouth on her. The mere thought of it made Emma shiver. They had been avoiding each other more and more. Emma ate cereal alone in her house more often than not, and on the occasions, they had to be in each other’s company they had to touch each other. They were like two drug addicts that were trying to stay clean, but they just could not resist a small taste now and again. With people around them, they pushed the limits. They flirted subtly, undressing each other with their eyes. They pushed in every way, except the way they wanted, neither knowing exactly why.

 

Emma’s body and mind did not want little tastes anymore. When she thought about Regina, all she wanted to do was rip her clothes off and discover what lay beneath. Over and above that, she felt like she had a secret that she needed to share but could not. She could not ask Ruby or Mary Margaret for advice; she would never betray Regina that way, so here she was, driving to Ardenville to do gods knows what.

 

Supper at Granny’s was a big occasion party. It was on few such occasions that everyone buried whatever hatched there was to bury and just had a marvelous time. Both his aunts were there and even though he knew, that Trina was also his mother, he was happy to have the Evil Queen and the Wicked Witch of the West as aunts only.  He and Neal often shared their knowledge of their world with each other and how absurd the reality seemed in Storybrook. In this Storybrook, the fairies were working for Regina, mostly things to do with children, of which there were an abundant amount. The fairies dealt with social services to parks and recreation. They also served on the boards of the three schools that were in Storybrook. The others were in Ardenville. The dwarfs also worked for the Mayor. Maintaining streets, parks, the power grid and water systems. Everyone had a place and a job. Of all the curses to hit them, Henry had to admit that this was most likely the best one.

 

Everyone was freer they could come and go and part of the fairies not being nuns, was that after all these years Leroy and Astrid could get married, they had three little fairy-dwarfs running around whom everyone loved to bits. Robin was with Trina, living a not so straight and narrow life, but no one ever got hurt. Some of their dealings were with August. That alone was weird. It almost seemed that the curse kept as close to everyone’s real personalities as possible. Like Ruby being a tracker for the Sheriff when it was needed. Mulan, or as she was known here Li, was a Park Ranger and very skilled in tracking. She knew all the animals in the area. Then there was Elsa. She was the principal of Storybrook High school, but she was more than that. She had a degree in child psychology and often acted as the on-call doctor at night to give Whale a break. She was also one of Regina’s most trusted advisors. Elsa had a daughter as beautiful as she was, attending her freshman year in high school.

 

Henry was standing next to the jukebox when Neal joined him. For a moment, they just looked at everyone they loved, having a fun time, all of them so oblivious as to why they were there and what sacrifices were made to have them here, safe. Neal indicated with his head, he and Henry disappeared out at the back of Granny’s.

 

“They all seem happy.” Henry had to agree. “We are about to change all that Henry. Is this really what we want for our family?” It was something both of them had thought about before.

Ever since they found Gina, things changed. Breaking the curse and going back to the Enchanted Forest was now a reality. More than that, the reason why they ran, no longer existed. They all had built lives here in the new realm. If the curse broke, Neverland, Oz, and Ardendale would be worlds apart from Misthaven. _What would happen to Grumpy and Nova? Would their children, even exist?_ Henry knew the last decisions to cast the curse; was made by a council and that the vote was unanimous. This time it was different, he and Neal were making a decision affecting thousands, just to save one person.

 

It was at times like this where he wished he could just sit down with all of them and ask for guidance. The first question that came up was; _What would Emma do_? The unfortunate reality of the matter was that Emma already made that decision. She trusted Neal and Henry to look after Gina, not to break the curse.

“No, Neal, we all love it here. Besides, if we bring Gina here, it does not mean the curse would get broken, the book says that the Savior _whispered_. We don’t know what Emma said, neither what Gina said and from what I can tell, Gina does not remember a thing. The little she did remember, others reminded her too many times that it was fairy tales, for her to believe it any longer.”

“I hope you are right, as much as I want Gina back, here, with us, all of us, I am not willing to sacrifice everyone’s happy ending for her.” He pushed himself off the wall where he was leaning in the alley behind Granny’s and went in the way they came out. Henry stood there alone in the dark for a very long time.

 

**********

Emma was working late; well that was what she told Regina when she invited her over for supper. She was sitting outside her loft, looking at the town, drinking beer. On clear nights, like tonight Emma could see all the way to the North Mountain. It was nights like this, which she felt utterly alone, except for the last few months. There was someone else out there, that was feeling the same, and somehow Emma could feel her, it made her not so alone. After her last _connectio_ n, Emma had tried to sense more, and somehow she did. It was mostly anger, one day the emotions felt light, hopeful, tonight was the same as her own feeling, being alone, without being lonely. Her thoughts took her to Regina and Henry it made her smile. She decided to go for a walk, and before she knew it, she was standing in front of 108 Mifflin Street. She wanted to knock, but shook her blonde mane and turned around. “Miss Swan?” She felt the silky voice travel over her skin. She turned around. “Madam Mayor.”

“Finished with your work?” Regina stretched the word work as if she knew what Emma was doing. “Yeah, but I did not realize it was so late.” Regina gave her an intense look before she stepped aside and invited Emma in with one of those sideways glances. All Emma could think was, _she’s gonna kill me, and then I’m gonna kill me._

She stood in the hallway waiting for Regina to lead the way. Regina turned left, _study it is_ , Emma thought. Regina went to the little bar, she kept in her study and poured both of them a slightly chilled red wine. She served it in proper red wine glasses, but instead of half a drink, each one was nearly full. “Trying to get me drunk Madam Mayor?”

“Maybe Sheriff.” Gods that smile again. Emma felt her insides turn. “I am glad you did stop by as a matter of fact.” Emma knew that voice. It was just a bit lower, and Regina used it when she wanted something. Emma nearly swallowed half her glass of wine.

“What can I do for you Madam Mayor?”

 

“What indeed?” Regina smirked. She turned around, leaning back on the bar with her hands flat, looking at Emma. She just kept on looking at Emma and with each second passing; Emma felt her resolve giving way.

“Where is Henry?” She asked just to break Regina’s spell over her.

“He is out with Violet.” Gods her voice was even lower, and Emma swallowed hard. Regina pushed herself up and started to walk over to where Emma was sitting. She could feel the heat and the tension as she took a seat next to Emma, their knees slightly touching. Regina had been thinking about this for weeks now; it was time to let go, to find out what this is, where it would take them. So much about how she felt for Emma remained a mystery; however, she was tired of analyzing it. Her body was screaming for Emma’s touch. She wanted to feel her, taste her… Her eyes traveled over Emma, coming to rest on her eyes. She dressed in one of her gray sleeveless dresses; Emma had on her usual red jacket and jeans.

 

Regina leaned forward and took Emma’s jacket off as she did before. She could now see Emma breathing heavy; she only had a tank top on. She must have discarded her bra when she was _working late,_ Regina looked at the curves and frame, she wanted to touch her, she wanted to feel her so badly it ached. “Emma…” She whispered as one of her hand slider over Emma’s thigh and came to rest under the tank top at her side. The other hand came around Emma’s shoulder and made its way into Emma’s hair at the nape of her neck.

 

Emma did not resist. With this woman touching her, possessing her, Emma could not resist. Regina pulled her in for a kiss. It was a soft, slow kiss. However, it was not all that Regina had in mind for tonight. She ended the kiss. Pushed Emma back on the couch. The dark woman kicked her heels off and saddled Emma’s hips. She had the advantage of height now, as one hand pulled Emma in by her hair, the other one was moving oh so slowly from her neck down to that curve she was admiring earlier. Emma moaned, as the kiss got more and more intense. Regina was still kissing her softly, but she wanted more. So the Sheriff grabbed Regina by her waist, pulling her hard toward herself, in the same motion, the dress moved up, their bodies pressed together. Regina gasped, and Emma took her chance, placing her lips on the delicate flesh of Regina’s neck just under her ear. First placing soft kisses then, without warning, she sucked the soft flesh hard into her mouth. Regina’s body responded, accordingly, she pushed her need hard against Emma’s abdomen. While her nails dug into Emma’s shoulders. She wanted Emma, all of Emma, she wanted to feel her, taste her, and love her. Her mind was swimming. She was aware that Emma was now holding her by the hair, demanding a deeper kiss. This kiss was still slow, but Emma’s mouth was exploring, feeling, sucking, oh gods, so wanting. Regina was unaware that she slowly, very slowly rocked against Emma as their kiss turned more heated. Emma pulled her mouth hard towards her and all Regina could do was to give in.

 

They both came up for air after what seemed like hours of intense kissing. Emma looked into the brown eyes, not even trying to disguise her lust. Regina looked back; her chest was heaving her swollen lips parting slightly, Emma thought she was a vision. “I would like to fuck your brains out tonight, Miss Swan.” Regina felt the shiver go through Emma’s body.  _Good_ , she smiled to herself. Emma had no idea what made her cream herself so intensely. _Was it what Regina said, or the way she said it_? All Emma knew was that after months and months of trying to understand this, trying to make excuses for this, she did not care any longer. Her need wanted Regina. She stood up still holding Regina her voice was only a whisper. “Lead the way, Madam Mayor…”

 

As they, both turned to leave the study, they heard the front door slam. “Mom! I’m home! Both women froze, then looked at each other and moved as fast as they could. Emma grabbed her jacket and zipped it up to the top, Regina straightened her hair and her dress before she slipped into her heels. Emma took a big sip of her wine, while Regina calmly called to Henry that they were in the study. He popped his head in. They smiled at him. Henry knew he walked in on something when they both asked at the same time how Violet was. He looked from one to the other, but they gave nothing away.

“She’s fine; I missed her.” He gave a lopsided grin. They smiled back.

“Well, okay, I’m going to bed. Night moms.” They said good night, and when the door closed, Emma swallowed the rest of her wine and handed her glass back to Regina.

 

She was sitting back on the couch, her arm over her face, while Regina was trying to stop a slight shake before she could pour them both drinks. She thought something stronger would be in order. When Regina softly pulled Emma’s arm away from her face, her cheeks were tear-stained. She wiped the tears away with her left hand and cupped Emma’s face. To her relieve, Emma, leaned into the touch. She placed the double scotch next to Emma and came to sit beside her. She was looking worried at Emma; she was still looking up to the ceiling, refusing to look at Regina, wiping a stray tear now and then.

Regina placed her right hand on Emma’s leg. There was nothing sexual about the touch. Henry was the best passion killer either of them had ever encountered. “Em…?” Her voice was soft and husky again, and it brought a new flood of tears to Emma. _Why was she crying? The gods only know she had been through so much, why was this so painful_?

When she finally looked at Regina, all the answers lay there. “I see,” Regina said softly, pulling her hand away from Emma folding it in her lap, looking down.

 

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Emma turned to Regina, taking her hand in her own, looking at the beautiful woman. “Gina,” Her voice was hoarse and full of emotion. “I cannot do this.” Regina only nodded; she did not think she could look at Emma right now without breaking down and begging. In all her life, no one had ever made her feel like this woman beside her. Emma did not love her because she was perfect, beautiful and powerful. Emma was here because she was flawed _. Did Emma love her_? She wanted to get up and just get away from the hurt. Emma held her back. She needed to explain this.

 

Emma took a big breath, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. “Gina, you are my best friend, you are the person I run to when I don’t know where to run to any longer. You are my safe place…” Her voice broke a little. Regina asked without looking at her.

“Then why can we not have more? Have this; have the happing ending we both deserve?” Tears ran over Emma’s face, and her lip trembled when she answered.

“Because I love you too much and everyone I love like this either dies or leave me. I cannot lose you, Regina, I just can’t. You are my world, my support structure, my family. I cannot lose you, Regina.”

The tears were now flowing freely for both of them. Regina looked up and gave her a little nod. Emma took her in her arms; to try to ease some of the pain she had caused. Regina held on for dear life as if she knew she would not have this moment ever again, and through her tears, she whispered to Emma; “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am keeping to the TV story line and realized the Felix died with the second cures. So I made a character called Gregor, in charge of the lost boys.


	7. Is my gun in your safe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support, hope you enjoy the next few chapters

**Chapter 7**

 

Henry looked at his mom over breakfast. She looked tired, and her eyes were a little red and swollen. “Is everything alright mom?” She gave him one of the tight Mayor smiles.

“Yes, dear, I just have a lot on my mind.” _Furthermore a broken heart_ , she added to herself. She went through the motions of the morning, as she always would, however, her mind was somewhere else.

 

Emma was beating the crap out of a punching bag at the local gym. The sweat was covering most of the gray vest’s back that she was wearing. She had been at it for almost an hour now. Several other regulars were observing her. They all felt sorry for the person who crossed the Sheriff today. Emma was hitting out, beating against the world, the pain, the goddamn frustration she was still feeling since last night, even self-released did nothing to take the hunger away.

Every moment she closed her eyes, she saw Regina. The way she moist her cranberry lipstick lips with that smooth tongue, opening her mouth slightly revealing her perfect teeth, giving Emma that seductive downwards coquettish look, just before the chocolate brown eyes consumed her insides and that perfect mouth covered her own.

Emma jumped around, giving the bag a hard roundhouse kick. She caught the bag on the backdrop and held it with her gloved fists, leaning her head against it, breathing hard, her tears mingling with the sweat on her face. It felt like her heart had been torn out by her own actions. She had been heartbroken before, she had cried for lovers, but this was so very different. It was a physical pain clawing at her chest, while her mind kept asking, _what did you do_?

 

Regina was not in much better shape. She understood everything Emma said the night before because she too had those fears.  _Was this what it was like to love a woman? To feel and love and understand on an emotional and intellectual level and not just physical_? Thinking about it made her wonder how men and woman got together in the first place; they were so very different emotionally.

 

With Emma, she could talk about feelings, and she understood when Emma told her that she loved her too much. She did not think that they even loved Henry that deeply. They both loved him, but what they felt for each other was beyond just feeling and understanding. She wiped a stray tear. She needed to use this pent-up emotion differently.

 

Before the day ended, all of Storybrook was buzzing with rumors. The one that was most repeated was that the Mayor and the Sheriff had a fight about Henry and it was so severe that they both hated each other as they did in the beginning. The rumors started when the Mayor did a  _surprise_  inspection of the power station and then the water system. By day's end, she had been to every public service in town except for the Sheriff’s department.

 

However, Emma made up for that. She did a sweep inspection of the station, had David call in Thomas and Frederik and had all three men do assessments. They had to take apart every weapon they had in lock up and put it back together. Time-wise, they all failed, so the instruction was to clean every single weapon as well as all the cars and the office itself. The next Department to go through the same punishment was Ozwald, then Neverville and by the time she got to Ardenville, they were ready for her, the word spread fast. Emma caught on, skipped the weapon inspection and took them to the shooting range. They all failed. She took them for an advance emergency pursuit drive, they all failed. She called for a department meeting the next morning at the station, her five Deputies and six Officers were in for it.

 

She called Regina and without so much as a hello, asked her if the Storybrook Reserve, Guard could take over the duties of the Sheriff’s Department for a week, starting the day after tomorrow. Regina heard the rumors as well. They were both trying, perhaps failing miserably, but a week completely apart might do them some good. Regina did not have to ask what she was up to, she knew, and a small part of her felt very sorry for the Deputies and Officers. Without thought, she just said _yes_.

The phone went dead in her hand. In all the time she and Emma had been working together, they never had a conversation like this. Emma could not say her name; she did not want to hear her voice. It was a short, impersonal call. Regina walked to the table in the middle of the office, took a glass and a decanter and poured herself a bourbon and for the first time that day; she let the tears flow freely.

***********

It was a very sorry looking bunch of Deputy’s and Officers that returned to Storybrook after a week. Emma had put them through a week of hellish boot camp. She would wake them at five every morning to run; every day was a different terrain, either the North Mountain or the impenetrable forests of Ozwald, to the dangerous swamps of Wonderside. Pushups, situps, hand-to-hand combat, hunting, tracking, cooking their own food, they did it all. When they were not doing something active, Emma drilled them on the Sheriff’s manual and weapon safety. They took their guns apart and put them back together until the Sheriff was happy with the time in which they did it.

The only reason why the sorry bunch did not complain once, was that it became apparent after the first day that they were all rusty and complacent. That and the fact that whatever the punishment was, Emma did everything with them. She took part in every grueling exercise; she did more than any of them, she was stronger, faster and far more accurate with her pistol and self-defense. They all knew after the week was done, and over that none of them could walk in Emma’s shoes, she was just that good.

 

When they arrived back in Storybrook, she immediately noticed that the Mayor had been busy as well. The streets had new markers, lines, and signs painted again. The parks looked well kept, and all the hiking trails had new boards, some of the underbrush was cutaway. Emma just took it in without saying anything. When the three cruisers stopped in front of her office, her tired crew got out and was waiting for her orders, all dreading what was to come? “You all have two days off, and you will report for your scheduled duty as usual after that. I will speak to Leroy, the Reserve and I will hold down the fort until then, you are dismissed.” They all stared at each other for a moment before they all took off, watching the Sheriff go to her office.

 

Emma knew she needed a shower badly, but she let her tired body fall into her office chair and after booting up her computer, started to look at emails and the logs that were neatly on her desk from Leroy. She smiled; all of them correctly filled out for every day, from every station. He most likely did things right this time in case she took the Reserve Guard out on the same boon doe-bashing course she has just subjected her deputies to.

 

Regina saw the cruisers return. Emma had already sent her a message asking for a two-day extension for her staff to rest. Regina watched her computer as one after the other Sheriff’s report came through. Emma wrote an extensive report on what her department needed and lacked. It was after nine o’clock when the last report came through. Regina frowned. Emma had been at it ever since they returned just before four. She heard the state the entire Sheriff’s department was in, and she knew very well that they were all asleep now after an exhausting week.

 

She called Leroy to ask him if everything was under control, his report was short, a few small things, and then, that the Sheriff was still in her office. Regina thanked him. She thought about calling, but emotionally she could not handle another _official_ call from Emma. She took her briefcase and drove the short distance to the Sheriff station. The lights in Emma’s office were still on. She walked in, as Mayor-like as she could. Her shoulders fell as she saw Emma. She discarded the red jacket, and Regina could see the much-toned biceps, the light tan and numerous scars and scratches on her arms and face. Emma was sleeping on one arm, the other next to her keyboard.

 

Regina swallowed. She knew this Emma all too well. One look told her that the blonde did not take the week to retrain her staff, she took the week to rebuild her walls. Regina walked over and lightly touched her arm. Emma shot up and looked at her. Regina gave her a small smile. “Well Sheriff, sleeping on the job?” Emma cleared her throat.

“Madam Mayor.” Regina lifted her chin up. They were back to that.

“Switch off your computer Sheriff and lock up. I will wait for you outside.”

“But..”

“It was not a request Miss Swan.” _Mayor's voice_ , Emma thought, _so they were back to that_.

“You gave your department two days off, from the look of things,” Regina flicked her fingers.

“You Sheriff can do with a day off. And a bath!” Regina added with slight disgust and left the office.

 

Emma was too tired to argue or think. The Sheriff did what Regina asked and met her at the black Mercedes. She just got in on the passenger side, not asking any questions, not where they were going, nor as to how Regina was? She could smell the Chanel no. 5 still lingering on Regina, the cranberry lips still perfect. She closed her eyes. Her thoughts were on the North Mountain. It was a hell of a run, it was steep and rugged, but she ran it. She did not stop until she reached the small plateau. The North Mountain itself could only be reached by climbing the almost 300-yards peak that stretched up from the plateau covered in snow for most of the year.

 

When she reached the plateau, her lungs were burning, her eyes were teary, and she just let all her emotions out. There, alone on the mountain she mourned a beautiful, wondrous love. Love that she did not understand that could not be defined, but if ever she wanted to love, only this love would do. She cried for herself and Regina, by the time Deputy Nolan and Gale caught up with her, all her emotions spent, and she set off descending the mountain again. A part of her stayed up there, or was it the other way around; did she bring a part of the cold mountain down with her? It did not matter. She was numb, bone tired and very, very lost.

 

Regina half carried, half-dragged Emma out of the car. She called Henry, the both of them helped Emma to bed in the guest bedroom. Regina just took her boots off before she tugged the tired blonde into bed. She swept a stray strand of hair from Emma’s face, just looking at her. The door was half-open, and when Henry peeked in to ask if he can do anything more, he saw his dark mother’s face. It caught his breath. He had never seen her look like that before. Not even when she looked at him. Her face was relaxed, calm, almost glowing, a small smile on her lips and a combination of tears and just bright, loving eyes. He looked down at his blonde mother and wondered if she knew. He looked back at Regina, and for the first time in his life, he understood true love. He silently vowed to himself that he would never settle for anything less than what he saw at that moment.

**Framingham**

Gina was on the floor in her dark, silent cell. She was trying to meditate. It was nearly impossible for her. Thoughts always went at a hundred miles an hour through her brain. She was breathing deeply. Trying to keep her mind on only the breath. Sometimes it worked, sometimes she knew after five minutes it was no use. Tonight it seemed to work better than usual. The last week had been strange. She exercised more than usual. She felt both exhilarated and heartbrokenly sad, which amused her. Since the boy, she thought she loved, ditched her. Let her take the fall for the shooting and murder, she was over love. She had enough shit of her own to add a complication like love to it. She, however, felt sufficiently different to try to find the answer in her mind. H _er mind. By the gods, that was a place even she tried to stay away from_. She calmed herself again and brought her thoughts back to her breath. She knew what was to come. She would go through her nightmares while she was awake, but it was necessary to feel that pain now because there were also feelings of something else and she knew instinctively it was not her feelings.

 

She knew two things that she could neither explain nor understood, she only knew it to be the truth. Her name had power, her actual name, which was why she was Gina Snow. This name had no power; it was not her full name. She also knew there was more than one conscious in her mind. Not like the mental disorder, that much she figured out. It was more like a voice that helped her to make decisions. She knew there were many, but only two ever broke through, a man and a woman and this woman was the one that was causing problems at the moment.

 

The woman was in pain, she was in love, in pain, confused and angry. The anger part Gina could understand, it was all the other emotions that confused her. Over the years, she had felt this woman, but ever since her bracelet had been removed, the connection was that much stronger. Hence the meditation tonight. She could feel the woman was physically exhausted, and when the body was busy, the mind could wander. She felt warm. She felt someone tugging her in. She felt the presence of the other person lingering there. That was where the love originated. She could feel the sleeping woman mourning that love. The question was what to do now? Get rid of this unknown emotion or live with it. Gina concentrated on the part of this woman’s heart that she was protecting fiercely. It was there. Loss, a lot of loss, love loss, the loss of a child the loss of parents and family. The loss was beating and breathing out of its own accord, like a burning coal in a fire that captures you and you keep to fuel it alive. There was something else that Gina could not get through to, a tremendously profound, unknown pain. Gina knew she could not take this kind of pain away. It might explain the connection with this woman, her fire was much the same, anger and loss, burning with a life of its own. It was something that her Soul understood; it did not mean that it was healthy, only that she understood it. Gina moved her hand over the fire burning in this woman, it was strong, and so was the wall she had built around her love, the love. Even Gina’s dark heart could feel how strong it was, and it was old and long-standing. Love that needed to flourish, not to be suppressed, as it has been for far too long already. Gina mentally did the only thing she thought would work, without changing anything. She smashed the wall around the love.

 

The wall cracked, it did not break, not that her instincts expected anything more. She took a fallen piece off the wall and placed it around the loss. This way, the other woman would not lose either, and maybe Gina could get through a week without feeling like crying.

 

She opened her eyes and stretched. The dreams did not come. She already felt better. She started doing pushups again, the next moment her t-shirt ripped at her right arm. “Shit!” She looked at the tear. It was the second time in so many months that she ripped a shirt. She’d already been issued a second load of clothes. Gina thought it all due to the training she did, but the guards and inmates noticed the real reason. She turned fifteen a few weeks ago. It was not a day to celebrate because it was not her birthday, it was the day she was documented by Social Services. However, she did get a homemade card from her unit that day. It made her laugh and the few inmates that got to know her a little felt happy. The outside of the card said, t _o the biggest badass known to man_. There was a growling Stitch on the front. She loved Lilo and Stitch. The inside said;  _we are happy you are on our side_ , with a smiling Lilo hugging grumpy Stitch. The card became the only thing decorating her cell. There were no photos, no calendar to count down the days, not a single personal item.

 

Without pushing too much, some of the women in her unit did little things for her, everyone needed a place to belong, and it was terribly sad that this young kid had no place. She did not even fit in here. Someone fixed the tear in her shirts until it became too obvious that she outgrew them. Gina did not notice. It was not like there was a full-length mirror in her cell that she could look at her body. Gina did realize that her biceps started toning, as well as her pectoral muscles, her legs were muscular without making her look like a beef farmer's wife. What she did not notice was that her body was taking on the shape of a young woman and that she nearly grew a foot since her incarnation, seven months before.

**********

Emma woke up and for a moment, she had no idea where she was. Then she smelled the linen,  _Regina_ , she smiled. Then got a whiff of herself, gods a shower was in order. Her sore body got up, she had no idea how she landed up in Regina’s guest room, but it did not matter. She felt good, in fact, she felt great. She grabbed her sleepover bag out of the cupboard and went to the guest bathroom; she hoped that she would beat Henry to it; she did not want to be around herself for too much longer.

She was in luck. She washed away all the dirt and grub that the dry-cleans in the forest rivers did not get to. It felt good. The hot water running over her, stinging a few scrapes she had, smelling the soap and shampoo, instead of forest and grub. The bathroom door opened and before she could protest, she smelled her.  _Gods her unique fragrance was intoxicating_. Emma closed her eyes, and a tear made its way down her face. She missed that smell all week. It was by no means strange for Regina to come in while Emma was showering. Regina would bring her a fresh towel and take her clothes to wash them. She had a suspicion that Regina might skip the washing and go straight to burning her clothes. Emma finished in the bathroom and made her way back to her room. She got dressed and grabbed her holster, badge, and jacket before she made her way down to the kitchen.

“Regina,” she called on her way down as she swung her jacket on. “Where is my gun…?” The words stopped in her throat as she turned the corner and saw Regina. Emma just stood frozen. After enjoying the moment, Regina spoke.

“You should close your mouth, dear,” Regina commented dryly, as she turned to make Emma her cocoa, she had a mischievous smile on her face that Emma could not see.  _Well, despite everything, Emma was still taken with her_.

 

 _Good_ , she picked the dress, just for Emma. It was a black dress with a low cut front, just enough to imagine what more there was and the back was virtually open all the way to her lower back. It sat just above the knee, and she had black stockings and very high pumps on. Regina thought of it as a welcome home present. She understood what Emma said, but by the gods, she was going to show this woman that they could have it all, even if it took time.

Emma took a breath and sat down by the breakfast nook. It has been weeks since they shared breakfast together. It felt good. They heard Henry come down the stairs. His hair was devilish, and he still had his pajamas on. Her son kissed Emma on the cheek where she sat drinking her cocoa. He gave Regina a look before he kissed her on the cheek.

“Wow mom, you look hot, what is the occasion?” Emma choked on the hot drink, which just made Regina smile more. She placed a plate of bacon and eggs with toast in front of Emma. She gave Emma one of those looks, while she answered Henry.

“Why thank you, Henry, I just felt like something, daring today.” Emma cringed, gods this woman was not making it any easier, but yes, she had to admit to herself, ultimately sexy and daring. Breathtakingly so.

 

She finished her breakfast and started to wash the dishes as normal, while Regina watched her where she was standing in the corner of the kitchen, legs crossed at her ankles drinking her coffee, looking both relaxed and amused. Emma just kept busy with her task. While Regina was cooking earlier, she moved to and fro between the stove and the breakfast nook, Emma watched. Her hips swayed a little more, her movements slightly more deliberate, and Emma could just about breathe. Now it was the brunette’s turn to watch. Emma placed the last of the dishes on the drying rack before she turned to Regina drying her hands on the dishtowel.

 

“Is my gun in your safe?” Regina smiled at her over the rim of the cup. Henry tried not to look at them. He wanted to see if Emma had that same look his mom did the night before.

“Yes, Miss Swan, your gun is in my safe.” The implication of what Regina said was not lost on her, and it made her mouth go dry. She tilted her head slightly before taking up the challenge. “May I remove my gun… from your safe…? Madam Mayor?” Regina had licked her lips before she took another sip of coffee.

“You may certainly not, Miss Swan…” The look again, Emma’s resolve was melting.

“.. But?” Regina lifted a finger up and placed her coffee on the counter next to her before she folded her arms over, looking right into Emma’s eyes. The entire world fell away, and all she could see was Regina.

 

“What! Sorry, what did you say?” Emma shook herself from the moment.

“I said, Sheriff if you paid attention; I gave you the day off.” Emma looked confused.

“What? Why?” Regina sighed as if she was speaking to a child.

“Miss Swan, as you well know, I know every little thing that is happening in my town.” She ticked her nails on the counter as if irritated. “Reports of your difficult week included. You gave your officers, two days off. As Mayor, I only thought it fair; the Sheriff should have a day off as well. Emma stood up to protest when Regina carried on. “I thought you and I could spend some time together, discussing some town issues?” Emma sat again. _A whole day with Regina_? She looked away, but the dread that had been filling her since their first kiss was less. Maybe she could do this.

 

“Alright Madam Mayor, but only if I cook lunch.” Regina made an unladylike snort, and Henry giggled like a young child.

“What! I can cook.” Regina smiled at her, a real smile.

“No offense, Miss Swan,” she said, rolling her eyes with one of her downward frowns. “But heating up a frozen pizza is not cooking.” Regina smiled up again, and Emma felt her heart flutter a bit. “However to be fair, I will let you take me to Chef Luis’ for a nice fresh salad. Emma smiled, “You’ve got it Madam Mayor.” It felt like old times, like their old barter, without the sexual tension and sad emotions. Emma missed it.


	8. The bastard of all lawyers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, no offense meant to the BPD. Had to do some research in the American legal system, hope I got most of the facts correct. I have no idea who the leader of the Irish mob is in Boston, just hope my Gaelic is not too off.

**Chapter 8**

 

**Boston**

Jack Cooper was a bastard; he did a job to deserve his pay. His pay was a lot of money to be the bastard of all lawyers. He hated losing; he would sink to whatever level was required to win a case. Now and then, he took on a pro-Bono case. The cases were usually very high-level murder cases, and when it came to Gina Snow, the publicity alone would be enough to make him happy.

 The BPD fucked up, wholesomely and straightforward, but he was not going to say that, he was going to tell the media that veteran Detective Sargent Joel Peterson fucked up. Joel was the reason that instead of being the DA for Boston, he made a name as the Crime Boss Lawyer.

Joel blotched a case as a rookie, and the ambitious young state prosecutor took the fall. No decent law firm wanted to hire him after that, so he went to work for a less than a reputable attorney, and within a few years, he made a name for himself, defending the criminals he once swore to put away.

The Snow case was  _the_  case, Jack thought to himself. He had worked the case himself instead of a few dozen lawyers he employed; neither did he use any of the paralegals. If Joel was going down, Cooper wanted to take him down himself. After Gina’s arrest, the Detective Sargent made sure that every newspaper got the story of how he solved the murder of the shopkeeper within twenty-four hours. Stating that if there were more cops like him, working the streets, Boston would be a safer city.

Jack had everything. Every statement, Joel made to the media. Copies of the arrest report, the transcripts of the interview, he had proof that Gina’s rights as a minor during the interview, was grossly violated. Firstly, because the interview was started without her lawyer present and secondly, there was no one from Social Services contacted. The kid was on her own. As a minor, she had the right to be accompanied by an adult, usually a parent, but in Gina’s case, it would have been a Social Worker. He also had a blood level alcohol test for a DUI for Gina’s defense counsel, the day before her sentence.

 

The DUI was  _overlooked_  by none other than Detective Sargent Peterson, he needed a  _sober_  lawyer in the court the next day, and he released a man, which had no business defending a minor. Gina’s case should have never made it to court, never mind charging and prosecuting her as an adult. Jack also had the video that Gina hacked. He knew it would be dismissed in court due to the fact that it was obtained illegally and by the defendant herself. The prosecution would have a field day, most likely charging her with hacking and tampering with evidence.

 

He was already all over it. He called a Judge, whose private life was not so private to Jack. They made a deal, Jack got all the warrants he needed, and the Judge got a digital camera chip.

One thing that Jack did learn from his clients was that when you made a deal, you kept to it. You did not make copies to use later. It was bad business. The Judge knew that what Jack gave him, was the only copy.

Jack got the results requested by Joel on the ballistics and fingerprints, as well as the GSR and blood, spatter results that Jamie requested. He knew that Detective Pierce got a desk job after she  _interfered_  in another detective’s case, requiring an unnecessary test on a resolved case. Jack just smiled at her, slapped her on the back as if she was a friend and said, “After this blows over, you, my girl will be Detective Sargent.”

 

Of course, the press got hold of the story that the Pillay murder case reopened. Joel was on the steps of the BPD, assuring the public once more that the actual murderer was behind bars and that Gina Snow would never see the light of day again. Jack laughed for almost an hour after the interview. He added another lawsuit against the BPD. Joel just violated her rights as a minor again, by publicly releasing her name.

 

With his warrants, he used a man that knew a guy that could get any digital footprint. Mr. Pillay’s son that took over the business after his father’s premature death was very co-operative. He gave the lawyer everything he wanted without looking at the warrant.

“I spoke to the police, Sir and told them about the tapes. They didn’t listen, so I kept it.” He talked with a thick Indian accent. The  _tapes_  were DVD’s, but like himself, the older generation still referred to VHS or tapes.

Jack, however, was not a very patient man, he had his appeal date. It would be an in-chambers review for his _so-called new evidence_ before the Judge would reopen the case to the appeal court. To Joel’s relieve, one of the most hard-ass Judges in Boston was assigned the appeal case, what was more, he hated lawyers like Jack. And Jack hated to lose. He had an entire stack of aces up his sleeve.

 

When the story broke of the Pillay case reopening, a certain Billy Mason tried to get on to a bus out of Boston. He kindly got picked up by the Irish mob in Southee and continued to be their guest until Jack could hand him over to Jamie. Jack thought about the irony, as he was about to destroy one cop's career, he was making another’s.

 

Jamie was different though, she already told him in no uncertain terms that he did not owe her anything, and when this was over, she would not owe him anything. He liked that, she was feisty, and for some reason, he decided that they had a deal. Jack asked Jamie to call the pretend lawyer as Cooper referred to Henry. The kid might know the law, but Henry did not have the killer instinct of a lawyer. It would not surprise him if the boy changed his major back to English Lit after this. Yes, he looked into the kid’s background. He was trying to find a connection between him and his client. There were none. Either that or Henry was better at hiding as he was at digging, and that was nearly impossible. His underground networking was too vast.

 

**Storybrook**

 

Emma had a good day with Regina. They worked for a while in the Mayor’s office comparing notes on what changes needed to be made and what more they could do to improve the town. Regina would never admit it openly, but she was very proud of what she had accomplished for the town and its citizens. One item, they both agreed on was for more charity budgets. Emma took her to lunch at Chef Luis’ since Emma gave the Bug to Henry and bought herself a sensible SUV, Regina did not mind riding in the blonde’s car any longer.

Emma could not keep her eyes off, Regina the entire day. Her mind kept on playing with her dilemma.  _What was this between them_? Emma had never wondered about her sexuality, neither did she ever questioned Regina’s.

“Don’t!” Emma looked up.

“Don’t what?” Regina narrowed her eyes.

“Emma, we are having a good day, please do not over think this, us? Just enjoy it, our friendship, and my glamorous looks.”

 

She smiled her seductive smile. Emma blushed, and her hand reached over to Regina and their fingers entangled as they always have. Emma nodded and pulled her hand away.

“Can I just ask something?” Regina lifted an eyebrow. “This attraction, does that mean we are gay?” Regina pouted her lips to stop herself from laughing.

“The term is Lesbians dear, and no, I don’t think it is the same. We are two people that developed feelings, other than friendship. Hell, Emma, maybe we just need to have rough and rugged bareback sex with some nameless, faceless guy. I do not know. I don’t know how or when it happened, I just know I love lying next to you. Holding you, cook for you.” Her eyes were filling up with tears. “Some days it feels like for every bad thing that happened in my life, you have been there to make it better and I cannot even remember a time when you were not there for me. It has been a long time Emma, that we had been more than just friends.” Emma thought about it. That was true. They not only shared a son, but they also shared their life. They each had a house, but both were their home. Whenever there was a function or a party, they never looked for dates; they always went out together.

“So what now, what is it that you want?”

Emma asked. Regina thought she was very clear on what she wanted the other night, but the mayor understood Emma, she always has and always will have a fear of abandonment, and with good reason.

“Emma, don’t over think this. Please enjoy it, for now. It does not matter what happens, I will always be here, with you, because I need you too.” Emma wiped a stray tear.

“Alright Madam Mayor, but I will hold you to that promise.”

Regina smiled slightly as she picked up her menu and replied. “I expect nothing less Miss Swan.”

 

Henry was on his phone in the lounge when they walked in. It was Henry as neither of them had seen him before. He was upset and sounded much more like a man than their little boy.

“Jamie that is another four months! Four months for god’s sake! Do you remember what happened to her? She cannot stay there, not for another four months!” They heard a woman’s voice reply, and that set him off again.

“What! Are you fucking kidding me? I thought you said the Cooper guy is the best!” Emma and Regina were packing away some stuff that they bought while trying not to eavesdrop.  
“Jamie, please, please try and get her out of there?” He ended the call and speed dialed Neal. “Hey, just got off the phone with Jamie, we got an appeal hearing, but it is only in another four months.” Both mothers could hear Neal going off, much like Henry did a moment before. They gave each other a concerned look. Henry was not far enough in his studies; to have a case of his own and what did Neal Nolan have to do with this?

 

They heard Henry cursed and stormed upstairs.

“Would you like to talk to him?” Emma nodded at Regina’s question and made her way to Henry’s room. She knocked and just got a  _yeah_! She popped her head in.

“Does that mean I can come in? He smiled.

“Sorry, mom just got some terrible news.” She sat down on the bed next to him.

“Is it about your friend? The one that was in the accident?” Henry gave her a bigger smile.

“Mom, I think we both know she was not in an accident, but yes, it is about the same friend.”

 

Emma gave him a bump with her shoulder. “You know you can tell either or both of your mothers. We are always here to help if you or Neal is in trouble…”

“No, it’s not like that, we are not in trouble, Neal is just better with research than what I am. I hit books, and he surfs the internet. There is this girl, he knows, from before.” Emma acknowledged that she understood what he meant.

“She got herself in trouble, bad trouble, but she is innocent, I got a lawyer in Boston that is taking on her case, but her appeal will only be heard in four months’ time.” Emma pulled him into a hug and spoke touching his head where she placed a kiss.

“Why didn’t you come to me, you know I still have contacts…” Then the realization hit her. “You got Jack Cooper to be her lawyer?” She stood up. “My god Henry, he is a crime lord, he represents criminals and guilty people. What the hell did you get yourself involved in?” Emma had raised her voice, and that got the attention of Regina, she was normally the strict mother, not Emma. She made her way upstairs.

“Mom, it was a Joel Peterson case.” That stopped Emma in her tracks. “We needed a villain, to take down an even worse man.” Emma looked at him intently, she was angry.

“Henry Daniel Mills! Jack Cooper does not do pro-Bono unless he gets something out of it, what deal did you make?”

“Mom…”  
“I will not ask you again, what deal did you made with him?” Regina had never heard Emma like this. She had never heard Emma use Henry’s full name, she stood at the door, listening.

“Nothing mom. Jamie and I took the case to him, we presented him with the evidence, when he saw that Joel Peterson was the lead detective, he said he would do it. That was it, I swear!”

“And who is this Jamie?”

“She is another detective that also thought the case got mishandled.”

 

She turned around and opened the door. Henry called to her, and it gave Regina time to go back to the kitchen.

“Mom, she is innocent, she is a victim of a corrupt system.”

Emma looked at him. “Henry, I am not angry because you are trying to help someone, or even because you made a deal with the devil. I'm upset, immensely angry because you lied!” She did not even want to think about the implication. “You told your mother and me that you and Neal were doing charity work, you were looking for this girl weren’t you!” Henry nodded. “What the hell is so special about her, hmm?” Henry answered softly.

 

“Neal was supposed to take care of her. Her mother asked him.” Emma could see that he was not lying.

“Henry, why keep that a secret? We could have helped!” He had tears in his eyes, she could not remember when last she had seen that.

“We looked, but it was only when she was arrested that we knew where she was.” Emma walked to the door again. She knew there was something he did not tell her. She was holding the door handle, her back to her son.

“Do you need help now?” Henry swallowed hard before he answered no and Emma left his room.

Regina said nothing as Emma took a seat in the kitchen; she waited for Emma to talk. She didn’t. Instead, she made a call.

 

“Hey Eoin, its Swan.” Regina heard the Irish accent saying: “Well, fuck me, how are you doing Swan? Heard you got married.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I did.”

“Is he good to you lass or should I come and fuck him up and sweep you away?” Emma smiled, same old Eoin.

“Eoin, this is not a social call.”

“Did not think so, lass, but you did not answer my question.”

“He died a few years ago, Eoin.” There was a moment of silence.

“I’m sorry to hear that lass. We will have a good drink for him tonight.” Emma smiled, “thanks, Eoin.”

 

“So what do you need?”

“Jack Cooper.”

“Emmy, have you lost your fucking mind? It is one thing being friends with me, but going after that one is suicidal.”  Emma was getting frustrated.

“Eoin, I am not asking you to take him out, I just need info, okay?” Eoin was silent for a moment. “Emmy, I’m doing a job for him right now, so be careful what you ask lass?”

 _Gods, she should have known. Of course, Jack Cooper was using Eoin Cavan and the Irish mob to do_ _work_ _for him_. Fear was creeping into her heart, fear for Henry.

“Eoin, he is handling some murder case of a girl…”

“Yeah, he sure is, Jack is going to fuck Joel right up the arse. Fucking bastard will deserve every bit of it.”

“Eoin, who is he defending and why?”

“Fuck if I can remember the lassie’s name, she has some short name, the girl got arrested for murder, did not pull the trigger though, someone tipped Jack off. Jack has proof the lassie is innocent, and we are sitting on the guy that popped the curry muncher. He will get the kid off, but I think he could give less than a fuck. He is after Joel Peterson. The pig indeed fucked this case up badly, and Jack is bringing him down.”

 

Emma was starting to breathe easier. “Thank you, Eoin.” He knew better than to ask why she needed the information. “You take care now Eoin. Go mbeirimíd beo ar an am seo arís.”

“You as well Lass, we will drink to your Killian tonight. Go mbeirimíd beo ar an am seo arís.”

Regina gave her a look of astonishment. “You speak Gaelic?”

“I know just that one blessing.”

“May I ask who your friend Eoin is?”

“Jealous Madam Mayor?” Regina gave her an  _I-could-not-care-less_  shrug. It made Emma laugh. All the tension from her conversation with Henry was gone.

“An old friend and head of the Irish mob in Boston.” Regina’s mouth opened and then she closed it. She put her hand up and shook her head.

“No, no, I do not want to know.” Then she added. “Is Henry in trouble?” Emma reached for her hand over the counter, an automatic response.

“No, Eoin did not mention him.” She explained the situation to Regina, what kind of men Cooper and Peterson were, ending by saying that Eoin had more of a moral code than what they did. “Who is this girl?” Emma shrugged.

 

Henry came down to supper; he gave his mother a questioning look. She gave him her best angry look, despite that her relief, resolved all her anger.

“I have spoken to Eoin Cavan. Do you know who Eoin Cavan is?” Henry’s eyes were huge. Emma could not decide it if was because she knew Eoin or that he realized for the first time what kind of man Cooper was. He swallowed hard, and Regina came to stand beside Emma, her arms folded. They had always agreed to take a united front when Henry was in trouble or needed to be steered in a different direction. He looked at both his mothers before he answered Emma.

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Everyone in Boston knew who Eoin Cavan was.

“Good, then you should also know that he confirmed your story. And,” she added with more authority in her voice, “he informed me that he is currently doing a job for Cooper. Are you starting to realize what you got yourself into?” Henry only nodded, he felt like he was ten.

“Henry why is this girl so important?” Henry looked up to Regina as she asked the question. He had several answers for her, but none that she would believe.

“She has had a hard life, Neal knows her, and she needs help. We are just helping her.”

“And exactly what are your plans once she is released?” Henry swallowed hard again. Gods, she already knew much more than he expected, and from just one conversation. He wished he had his Bounty Hunter mother’s contacts.

 

“I have not thought about it. Mr. Cooper said that he would get her compensation for wrongful incarceration and emotional distress. It should get her back on her feet.” Regina placed her hand on Emma’s shoulder. It was their sign to let it go.

“Go and wash your hands Henry, supper is done.” He was relieved to be out from Emma’s scrutinizing gaze. He would swear she could read his mind.

 

After supper, Emma cleaned up as usual. Henry disappeared as soon as he could. Regina came to stand next to her, re-wiping the marble surfaces, more out of habit than to actually clean them, Miss Swan has learned well over the years, even her own kitchen looked better these days.

“Should I be worried?” Emma did not look up.

“Of course you should be worried! He is turning twenty-three; we could become grandmothers, one of these days!” Regina looked at her shocked for a moment, and then she calmly answered. “Well, there will be no question as to who would raise her Miss Swan, if I let you do it, she will learn to shoot before she learns _please_ and _thank you_. Emma turned to protest, but when she looked into Regina’s smiling eyes, all she could do was smile back. Gods, she was beautiful. Regina saw the look in Emma’s eyes. She wanted to kiss her again, but she swore to herself, she would take things slower, her lust will wait until Emma was ready. Instead, she just grazed Emma’s jaw with two fingers and made her way to the lounge.

 

Emma found her standing by the window looking out. She walked over to the brunette that now seemed a bit chilly in her stunning dress. Emma took off her jacket and placed it over Regina’s shoulders. She enveloped her in her arms, resting her chin on Regina’s shoulder. She felt the dark woman relax into the embrace and leaning back into Emma.  _I could do this forever_. Emma thought to herself.


	9. They love her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do not know too much of the American Justice system, had to research a lot, hope I got most of it correct.  
> Thank you for the continued support.

**Chapter 9**

 

Convincing Mrs. Gold to rent them a property, without telling their parents, was much easier than they thought. She made a deal with them. The one thing she learned from Rumple was that you never break a deal. The deal was simple, they rent it at a good price with the option to buy it eventually, in the meantime, they would fix it up, and it needed a lot of fixing, at their own cost. It was a severely neglected boathouse, between the docks and Granny’s. It was perfect.

The view was the open Ocean; the beach was a few meters away. It was spacious. That became their project for the summer, and they broke one wall virtually down to put in a sliding door that led to the newly built deck. They left the space open, except for a bedroom and en-suite bathroom. They were trying to think what Gina would like. They needed help. They got Ruby to assist, explaining that Gina was not a girly girl, that she needed a lot of space; she did not like to be confined. Ruby made a few recommendations. Over the weeks, more than one person came to look at their work. Marco and August came to help them with some of the difficult tasks.

 

They build a small kitchen with a breakfast nook and enough cupboards for one person. They did the same with the bedroom. The boys asked the two carpenters to do something extraordinary. Gina would need a safe. The safe installed, Henry and Neal build a queen size bed over the safe in the floor. If you did not know where to look, you would never find it. From the little they knew about Gina and the little they could remember, they added a few extra things. There was a second-hand boxing bag hanging just apart from the _lounge_ , which was two couches and a coffee table. They also build her a workbench and got as many tools they could for her to use. Gina had a talent and passion when she was small; they both hoped that it was something she took up in her new life.

Emma and Regina inevitably heard about _the project_ , so they went to look at it one night. As soon as Regina put the light on, both women just grabbed each other’s hand. They looked at each other and walked through the spacious, neat little home, and a home it was.

 

“They love her.” Emma was eventually able to say.

“Yes, it would seem so.” Regina swallowed. She knew it bothered Emma as much as it did her, not only that their son had a secret, but all of a sudden it seemed he had an entire life they knew nothing about. They had spoken to Mary Margaret earlier in the week, she gave them one of her sweet smiles and answered.

“Of course I have been to the cottage, Neal cannot wait to see her again.” Even miss perfect knew. It was not that they felt left out; it was the fact that they did not know anything about this mysterious girl. Other than knowing, she was in prison but was innocent, and the Neal knew her _before_ , neither boys have told them anything about this girl. They did not even know how old she was.

Emma looked at the workbench; there was something familiar about it, about the design. About some of the carvings in it. She traced her finger over a design of a compass. It seemed a strange symbol to be on a workbench. It made her think of Killian.

“What is so special about this girl?” She asked Regina softly, she did not have the answer, but she was going to find out.

 

Henry and Neal spent most of their summer working at the cottage. They seem only to go home for supper. Regina decided to have a little talk with Ruby and Mary Margaret perhaps they had more information. When Emma left the office the next morning and Henry was off to this project again, Regina made her way over to Granny’s. Mary Margaret and David were enjoying breakfast together.

“May I join you?” Mary Margaret smiled her pleasant smile and indicated with her hand to an open seat. Ruby placed the Mayor’s black coffee in front of her, and she took a sip before she started to speak to the Nolan’s.

“Quite the project our boys had put together?” She took another sip.

“It is so beautiful is it not, in comparisons to what it looked like before? If you think what the place looked like and what they have done, it is amazing.” Regina nodded, and David continued.

“What amazed me most was that so many people came to help after they heard it is for Neal’s friend. It often amazes me how this town can be so giving, even for someone they do not know.”

“Speaking of her, when will she be arriving in Storybrook?” Regina kept her voice low and her eyes on her coffee. Mary Margaret looked at David. He shrugged his shoulders.

“I think Henry said within a month or so.” Ruby interrupted them, taking the plates of the Nolan’s and refilling Regina’s coffee.

 

“No, Henry said she would stay with him for a few months before she comes here. Regina nearly choked on her coffee.

“Hot.” She smiled as she got a _look_.

Somehow, everyone forgot that Emma and Regina were not supposed to know about this. Ruby disappeared to the back; David got up and said he needed to go to work. Mary Margaret wanted to flee as well, by Regina gave her a, _don’t you even dare_ look. She swallowed and folded her hands in front of her on the table, some days Regina could still scare her.

“So Mrs. Nolan…” Here it comes, the Mayor's voice and all of its implications, Mary Margaret thought. She gave her sweet smile again.

“Yes, Madam Mayor?’ She did not even try to disguise her annoyance, even though she was still smiling.

“Who is this girl and what connection does she have to our sons?” Regina’s eyes were flaring this time.

“Honestly Regina, I do not know. All I know is that she is important to both our sons and that she was in some trouble and Henry got her out of it.”

“That’s it?” Regina asked annoyed. “What is her name?” Mary Margaret thought for a moment and then tilted her head.

“I don’t believe that they had mentioned it.” She could see Regina’s frustration.

“Do you mean to tell me, that everyone in this town has been helping a stranger whose name no one knows because Henry and Neal think that she needs help?”

 

Mary Margaret thought about it a moment, yes, that would seem strange, but this was Storybrook, people helped each other. She and David started helping because Neal never really asked for anything. It was their way to show him their support.

“Regina, they are doing something good, can’t you just accept it?” Regina tapped her forefinger on the table. The first time her son kept a secret from her and went on a mission to help someone, he returned to Storybrook with his biological mother. They might be good friends now, but the beginning, it was strenuous, and the two women landed up in more than one feud due to having very different ideas as to what was good for Henry and how to raise him. The next time was when he brought Neal White to Storybrook. That event had a good start and a good ending. Regina stopped tapping irritably on the table.

“Fine, you are right. I will trust him. But please Mary Margaret if you hear something that does not sound right, please let me and Emma know?”

“Of course.” Mary Margaret said. The Mayor wished her a good day and left.

 

Henry and Neal looked at everything they accomplished. Henry patted his uncle on the back. “Something is missing.” Neal thought aloud, and he just could not place it.

“Yeah!” Henry smiled and went to get a duffel bag he had with him in the morning. He placed it between himself and Neal. His face had a bright smile. Henry opened the bag and took out a flag for the Storybook Rangers. Neal laughed.

“Yeah! That is what is missing in our little Princess's room.”

Henry handed him an Ice hockey stick and a brand new pair of size eight black and silver skates. Neal looked at the skates. “She is going to love these Henry, thank you.” The two young men hugged each other. All the work was worth it, Henry thought. He still had a little fear that Gina would never come home.

 

Neal and Henry were playing video games in the lounge when Emma came home. She looked around the corner to make sure it was them. They did not look up. They were in some intense battle, and for a moment, she wished Regina had not bought the surround sound system; however, it was incredible to have them home, doing normal boy stuff. She found Regina making supper. The woman did not hear Emma come in over the video game and it allowed Emma a moment to appreciate the vision before her. She smiled as she watched Regina move in the black business pants with her usual silk top.

“Miss Swan, your eyes are burning a hole in my ass.” Emma stood still, _how did she know_?

“Do you like what you see Miss Swan?” Regina asked without turning to Emma. Emma smiled and leaned casually on the counter.

“Nah, I think it looks better with the grey pants.” Emma got a swat with the dishtowel as Regina turned around with a smile.

“Just for that, you will not get any dessert.” Emma gave a pout.

“And what is for dessert?” Regina gave her a look and leaned forward over the counter. Emma could see the supple curves and cleavage the Mayor was showing off.

“I was thinking strawberries and cream. I so did enjoy you eating the cream off your cocoa the other morning. I would love to see you slowly licking it off a supple, ripe, sweet strawberry. Emma swallowed her throat very dry, she had an idea that they were indeed not talking about strawberries any longer and with her eyes on Regina’s open shirt, she wholeheartedly hoped not.

 

Regina gave Emma the space that she required. There were light touches and small kisses like those that they had before, but there were also nights when Regina would lay on Emma’s lap while watching a movie and Emma would rub the tension at her temples or just running her fingers through Regina’s hair. She had found Emma just looking at her, and there was no doubt that what she saw in her eyes was love. Then there were moments like this, where the lust in Emma’s eyes, warmed her entire body. She smiled to herself often. Usually, she just took what she wanted. She has changed much. She had never been this patient with a lover, but the fact was that all her past lovers were men and they needed very little encouragement. Perhaps that is the reason why this relationship became so important, all the other aspects of a relationship was in place, the care, the commitment, the emotional and intellectual bond. It was just the sex that was missing, and yes, Regina had to admit to herself, she wanted sex. Long, lusty, sweaty sex. They could make love other times; right now, she had a lust that needed to be sated. Then she would become a little sad again and wondered if Emma would ever let go of her fears and if they did go there, what then? _Would it affect their friendship_?

 

The two women were strangely quiet over supper. School was about to start in less than a week, and it would be Thanksgiving before they would see Henry again. Regina dished up dessert for everyone and instructed the boys to clean up the kitchen before they could have their dessert and go back to their video game. She could not make up her mind if Emma, were shocked, relieved or terrified. Regina just gave her a warm smile. She knew she would most likely have to clean the surfaces again, but for tonight, she and Emma could have another quiet evening in the study.

 

“Your moms are acting weird.” Henry looked at Neal,

“You mean more weird than usual?” Neal smiled.

“Has Emma had any more episodes?” Henry shook his head. He asked his adopted mother in private about it. She assured him that Emma was doing well and that it had been months since the last episode. It was a relief for Henry; it meant that Gina was also all right.

 

Emma took a beer and her bowl of strawberries and cream from Regina. She wanted to cry. _Why was it so hard_? She knew she loved Regina, she loved her as a friend, but there was also something very different and deeper. She knew there was a powerful attraction between them, Regina made her feel wanted and desired and it had been a long time since anyone had made her feel like a woman.

“You are over thinking this again, Miss Swan.” Regina touched her chin and lifted her head with two fingers, they slide over her jaw, and her hand came to rest on Emma’s cheek. “You are so beautiful.” She whispered. She kicked off her heels and stretched out on the couch, squeezing her toes under Emma’s thighs. She started to eat her strawberries without looking at Emma, who seemed still undecided on whether to drink the beer or eat the berries. Emma looked at her. She placed the beer and the dessert on the side table and turned to look at her. She was searching with her eyes. Searching to see. _What_? She thought to herself, _to see if Regina’s barter from earlier was real, to see if she was scared or filled with desire_. Since Emma told her that she could not do this, Regina has been just Regina again. They fell into their quiet comfort of friendship. Now and then Regina would just push the barrier. Emma would land up with a restless night trying to figure out why she was resisting so much.

“I need some air.” She said softly to Regina got up and left. Regina sat on the couch for a very long time. Her legs pulled up, her chin resting on her hand, looking through the slightly open curtain, tears falling one by one, wondering if she would ever see Emma Swan walk down her walkway again.

 

**A few days later**

 

Regina and Emma did not hide their tears. It was almost a relief, crying in front of each other, for each other, unashamed as to who was watching them. They each kissed Henry more than what was necessary. They asked him if he had everything packed, told him to call them when he got to Boston, that he should study hard. He had eventually told them that when he was going back, he would study English Lit again. Emma was relieved, Regina just smiled. He certainly had a talent for writing, and they both hoped that the dealings with Jack Cooper would be the last of his law career.

 

They watched him drive off and somehow gravitated towards each other. As the yellow Bug disappeared out of their sight, they were holding hands. Regina had not seen much of the Sheriff during the last week of Henry’s holiday. Emma retreated behind a wall that Regina did not think anyone would be able to break through again. Fear. The entire world, every philosophy, and religion taught that love was the most powerful emotion, thought and action there was. That the energy of love could overcome everything at any time, always.

Regina knew better than most that anger and hate, which was just fear in another form, could consume and could turn the lightest soul, into the darkest heart. Emma chose her fear to lose love over having love. Regina understood, she understood the risk and the loss, but it did not make it any easier for her. The less Regina saw Emma, the more her heart and mind realized how deeply her feelings ran, and a part of love was to let someone go. She cried herself to sleep the second night Emma did not come to the house, and when Emma invited Henry and Neal over, she knew the blonde had made her final choice. They would return to Madam Mayor and Sheriff Swan.

 

She turned to the Sheriff still crying, still holding her hand. She wanted to give her the impersonal Miss Swan, but the title stuck in her throat. She asked softly, so no one other than Emma would hear. “Will you please come and sleep over tonight? I don’t want to be alone, Emma.” She got a squeeze in her hand, and a slight nod before the Sheriff set off to her office again.

 

**Boston**

 

Henry opened The Author door in a deserted back alley and from there drove to his flat. He would call his moms in a few hours to let them know he arrived safely. He had a ton of things to do. He was jumping between three Realms, recording their stories, while he still tried to maintain life. He spoke to Cooper and Jamie several times while he was in Storybrook. They both assured him that everything was fine with Gina and that the appeal would take place the next week. He reserved the following day to go to the administration building at the university to sort out his major. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he always knew that this would happen once he had found her.

He had been working on his theses. He chose Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Doing both an analysis of the myth, and the man and the stories behind the myth, Vlad the Impaler, and a theory studied by Peter Vronsky about early serial killing. That man’s inhumanity to man and the violence of serial killers, in general, could have been the beginning of the myths of monsters, vampires, and werewolves. That medieval serial crime so misunderstood that people created monsters to attribute initial violent crime to these monsters. He thought it would be a better theory than telling them that Little Red Riding hood was a werewolf, that her Grandma was one as well and that Peter never caught the wolf, it ate him, and that Peter and the Wolf were dating at the time. If some people only understood half of the complications in his life, he could at least talk about it. Was that one of the reasons he wanted to save Gina? She escaped the curse, but somehow she does not remember. It was just one more of his terrible burdens.

 

**Storybrook**

 

Emma packed a fresh overnight bag, with more than just one night’s needs. She did not want to question it, she just did. She arrived at Regina’s house at seven sharp, suppertime. The house did feel empty without their son’s presence. She rang the bell, even though she still had her key. Regina opened the door, she looked exhausted, and her eyes were still a little red. Without thought, Emma dropped her bag and embraced her. Regina gratefully fell into the warm hug. She just leaned against Emma’s shoulder while the strong arms held her. After a while, she pulled away, wiped a tear and showed Emma in.

“I do not feel like eating, so I just threw a salad together, I hope you don’t mind?” Emma held up two bottles of red wine. Her taste in wine has certainly improved during their friendship.

“Neither do I.” She got a small smile in return, and Regina went to the kitchen, dished up medium-size plates of salad and took out the real red wine glasses. She poured them to the brim. Both drank a good bit of wine before they half-heartedly started to eat the salad. The meal was in silence. Regina kept on filling up their glasses until the first bottle was empty.

 

“Why don’t you go and shower and I will clean up?” Emma suggested, and Regina nodded in silence and went upstairs with her almost full glass. There was not much to clean up. Emma took a shower in the guest bathroom and dressed in her usual sleep shorts and a tank top. She thought she would sit with Regina and most likely finish the other bottle of wine before she would go to sleep. Emma found Regina sitting on the bed dressed in one of her teal colored silk nighties. Her arms wrapped around her legs and she was holding herself, just staring off into space. Emma came to sit on the bed next to her. She filled up her glass and gave her a soft rub on her arm. Regina looked up at her, and Emma instantly knew that most of the hurt and sadness she saw there was because of herself.

Emma wished she could ease the pain, hoped she could be the woman that Regina needed, but she was so scared. Afraid of losing someone that meant so much to her. The irony seemed to be, that she had already lost her by deciding for both of them. “Gina?” She turned her face and wiped the tears she did not want Emma to see. She took a big swallow of the wine and composed herself as much as what she could.

“Alright, I will be next door if you need me. She got up, but Regina pulled her back.

“When I said I did not want to be alone tonight I meant it.” She pulled the covers open next to her. Emma understood it was the least she could do. She walked around the bed and took her place next to Regina that curled into a ball. Emma slipped in between the silk sheets and felt the lightness of her skin. She moved over to Regina and placed one arm over her, holding onto a hand. Regina immediately responded by moving backwards spooning with Emma, her one leg moving out, to cup their feet together. She switched the bed lamp off and fell asleep in Emma’s arms.

 

Emma woke up covered with Regina. During the night, the Mayor had turned around. Her brown mane spread all over Emma as her head rested in the crook of Emma’s shoulder and neck. Her arm was around Emma’s waist and their legs entangled. Emma closed her eyes and covered them with her right arm as her left was holding Regina protectively. The tears were streaming down her face. Everything about this exact moment felt perfect, good and right. She felt warm, safe, and loved. _Why then would she get up in a moment and walk out_?

Away from this woman and everything that she was willing to give her. _Was she that broken_? When she came to Storybrook, the deceit of Neal Cassidy and a life of lonely living had ensured that her walls were strong and high. Over time between Mary Margaret, Henry and Graham, it came down. She had a second chance with Neal, and then Killian approached the elusive Sheriff. As she lay there, the answer came to her. Regina never tore the wall down, because, with Regina, there never had been a wall. She always knew where she stood with this woman. For the first year or so, they were rivals, then they started to work together, but the point was that Regina did not hide her feelings, whether they were angry or full of love; Emma always knew where she stood with Regina. She did not need to hide with Regina, put up a front, or have a pretense. _Was that what was making her so scared, because Regina always had a place in her heart?_ Perhaps she so used to being alone and running away, that when it matters; she cannot help, but to run. Emma wiped her eyes and untangled herself from Regina. She placed a pillow for Regina to hold instead of her warm body. In the hope, it would ensure that she got more sleep. No one would bat an eye if the Mayor was late today.

 

**Boston**

Henry finished early with his transfer. He spoke to the Dean, showing him that he was working on his thesis. Everything went smoothly, and by the time he left, he placed a call to Framingham, he just needed to hear her voice.

“Shining, how are you?” He smiled at the nickname she gave him. He still struggled to get used to her voice that was now even huskier. She spoke to him as if she did not have a care in the world; it amused him thinking of the situation she found herself in. They talked their ten minutes about everything except her case. She saw the news when _Defective_ Joel Peterson bragged that he had put away the right person. She had seen the many forester parents; she had over seven years that all more or less said the same thing, a troubled child, and they always knew the child was bad news, they had to protect the other kids from her and that they all knew she would land up in jail, eventually. Cooper had liability and slander cases filed against all of them. Henry promised to come and see her soon. They said their goodbyes. Gina continued to wonder why this guy was still helping her. Her experience was that no help ever came without a price, yet Henry only seemed to be interested in helping, because he believed she was innocent. She knew that time would tell.

 

********

Cooper was dressed in his best suit; he had a big smile on his face as he greeted the media on the steps of the Justice building. He did not comment, but Joel was there blowing his mouth off again. The DA and the Prosecutor were both voicing their confidence in the case and that they were satisfied the charges of the BPD would stand. Judge Krause despised lawyers like Cooper, and even after his presence was announced, the Judge made him wait. Cooper did not care; he had wanted this opportunity his entire career. Today was the day the Joel Peterson’s career would come crashing down. Some of his cases would be reopened, and Cooper vowed to himself that he would be a defendant to every single one.

 

When the Judge called for the prosecution and defense, both men walked into his chambers the law reporter already with her stenotype. It was only a hearing to see if there was any validity to an appeal. The Judge turned to the prosecutor.

“Do you have any new evidence to submit?”

He stood. “No Your Honor, the State stands by its case that the subject was found with the murder weapon and confessed to the crime.”

“Objection.” Judge Krause looked annoyed at Cooper. “This is an informal hearing.”

Cooper stood. “With all due respect, your honor, the accused did not plead guilty to the murder of Mr. Ashram Pillay.”

“Your honor, the arresting officer recorded the confession.” The prosecutor said.

“Oh yes!” Cooper said, turning to the man. “Your Honor, here is the original arrest report and a signed affidavit from BPD Officer Angelo. It states on both that the accused only repeated the phrase: _I killed the Black Fairy_. And it was determined by Detective Joel Peterson, that it was the street name for the shopkeeper!”

 

“Again, Your Honor, four different affidavits, one from Mr. Ashram Pillay Jr all stating that Mr. Pillay Snr was not known by any street name. The other three are from street gangs in the area.”

The judge sighed. “Mr. Cooper, is this the new evidence? Because if it is, I am assuring you, you are wasting my time.”

 

Cooper did not smile. “No Your Honor, I have more.” He opened his legal case and took out a stack of files. The Judge rolled his eyes. Cooper continued.

“This is a gunshot residue report that was run on my client’s clothes in evidence a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, there is no GSR report for her hands, because it was never processed by the BPD when the arrest took place.” He passed a copy to the judges and the prosecutor.

“This is circumstantial evidence Your Honor. The accused could have changed jackets.” The prosecutor interrupted. The Judge looked at Cooper.

“Duly noted Your Honor. Here is a copy of the blood spatter report on my client’s clothes and a copy of the Medical Examiner’s report. The ME’s report states that the gunfire was at no more than four feet. There would have been blood on my client if she fired the shot. Not just on her clothes, but on her face as well. The blood spatter report that was also done after the fact on her clothes in custody showed no blood. More so, none of the arresting officers or Detective Peterson described any blood on my client.” Judge Krause already knew Cooper had enough to have the case re-opened. It would be a stretch, but you just needed a few jury members to have reasonable doubt. He looked at the prosecutor.

“Your honor, I know about these analysis reports and their conclusions. They have been completed at the BPD lab.”

 

“Continue Mr. Cooper.” The Judge said reluctantly.

“Thank you, Your Honor. Here is a copy of a DUI arrest and the blood alcohol levels of state defendant Nevil Wait. My client’s lawyer during her trial. The date as you can see it the night before closing arguments in the State vs. Gina Snow in the murder of Mr. Ashram Pillay.” Both men took their copies from Cooper. The Judge looked at it. He was well over the legal limit, which made him still drunk during the trial. That alone would give Cooper a case for miss trial. He took off his glasses and wiped them as if he could not believe what he was reading. The prosecutor also looked less sure of this appeal hearing.

 

“Attached to it, is the night log at the BPD station. Mr. Wait was signed out by Detective Peterson and the charges against him was dropped. With the blood alcohol level so high, it means that Mr. Wait was still drunk at 9:00 am when the case against my client continued.” The Judge shook his head. The matter was becoming very depraved.

 

“What else?” Judge Krause asked. Cooper gave him the transcripts of the interview.

“There was no lawyer or a responsible adult from Social Services present during my client’s original arrest interview. I have the video of the interview to confirm this.” Both men shook their heads again, the question on their minds, how did Joel fuck this up so badly.

“Fine Mr. Cooper, you have your appeal.”

“Thank you, Your Honor, but I have a few more items to discuss.” The prosecutor cringed. Judge Krause indicated that he could continue. Cooper handed him a flash drive.

“I have the original and an FBI Cyber Intelligence report that the disk I have is original and have not been tampered with, in any way. I also have an affidavit from Mr. Ashram Pillay Jr. that he informed the arresting officer of the CCTV recording and Officer Angelo’s other affidavit not only confirms this, but it also records that he told Detective Peterson of the evidence and that it was never looked at or submitted to the court.” Judge Krause reluctantly inserted the disk into his laptop and viewed the video.

  
He breathed a huge sigh after he saw the footage. “Have you seen this?” He asked the prosecutor. “Since this was only an informal hearing to establish if I had an appeal case, I was not under any obligation to inform the Prosecution of my findings,” Cooper stated, and the Judge knew he was well within his rights. Judge Krause turned the laptop for the prosecutor to see and play the CCTV footage again. “Jesus!” Was all that he said after he saw the video.

 

All three men were quiet for a moment. The Judge was trying to figure out how to proceed now. The prosecutor was thinking of how he was going to break this news to the DA.

“How long do you need to prepare for an appeal hearing Mr. Nelson?” The Judge asked the prosecutor. He looked up.

“Your honor the evidence is overwhelming; this case should have never made it to court.” He just stated the obvious.

“Does that mean that the state will not object to a formal appeal and turnover of my judgment?” Nelson swallowed hard.

“Yes, your honor, the State will not oppose your decision.” The Judge wiped his eyes; this hearing certainly did not go as he thought it would.

“Do you have anything to add Mr. Cooper?”

 

“Yes, Your Honor, I do.” He took out another stack of papers. “These are lawsuits I now file with the court on behalf of my client.” He handed the entire stack to the Judge. He looked at it. Wrongful arrest, unlawful incarnation, violation of a minor’s right, negligence to investigate all evidence presented, a few libel lawsuits, one against Joel Peterson and finally, the big one. Emotional and physical damage during wrong full incarnation. The Judge read the last one aloud.

“This is a little of a push Mr. Cooper for only one lawsuit?” The lawsuit was for five million dollars. Cooper handed him a medical report and then told both men why he filed for the suit.

“She was raped a month into her life term. She was in the hospital for two weeks, and in the infirmary for six, it took her two months before she could walk without pain and ten days before she could speak.” The shock was evident on both men’s faces. The Judge looked at the file. He read every injury. It made him swallow hard. He pressed a button on his land phone.

“Mrs. Watson when do I have an open hour this week?”

“Thursday morning at 10:30 Sir.” The reply came.

 

He turned to the two men again. “Mr. Nelson you have until then to file a motion if you so wish, but I recommend some serious introspection of your department and the BPD by then. Mr. Cooper, I will personally call the Warden at Framingham to ensure extra measures are taken to keep Miss Snow safe until Thursday.” The two men had never gotten along, but this case before him was a gross injustice so when Cooper extended his hand, Judge Krause shook it.

“It is much appreciated, Your Honor.” He packed up his case and bowed to the Judge before leaving his chambers.

 

Joel was leaning against the wall outside the Judge’s chambers. Cooper came out first. His face was drawn, solemn. Joel gave him a smug smile. “Doesn’t pay to defend criminals hey Jack?” Cooper did not respond. As soon as he passed Joel, his face broke out into a big smile. Nelson was almost gray after he read the medical report of Gina’s sexual assault. One of his daughters was fourteen. As a father, it broke his heart that an innocent girl was subjected to that and had lost her innocence as a result of something so brutal. When he looked up and saw Joel’s smiling face, he wanted to strike the man. He continued to walk.

“Hey Nelson, what’s up man. Cooper looked like he could kill me, so the appeal got stopped?” Nelson turned to him.

“No, Joel. The appeal is going ahead, and if I were you, I would contact my Union and get a lawyer.” He took out his cell phone to give the news to the DA. He stopped and turned to a confused Joel again. “And Joel, you are going to need a good lawyer, perhaps Greg Wait, if he does not get disbarred.” He lifted the phone to his ear, and when he heard the DA’s voice, he only said: “We have an enormous problem, Sir.”

 

The DA was waiting to address the media again, but after he had spoken to the prosecutor, he left. He, in turn, called the Commissioner and the Governor. It was an election year; all their campaigns were already running. This case was going to ruin their chances of re-election. The matter had to go away quietly. They all had a short meeting at the Governor’s office. It would cost a fortune, but the State would settle all lawsuits against the Justice System, out of court, Greg Wait and Joel Peterson had charges issued against them, all they needed now was another story, another hero and unbeknown to them, Cooper was taking care of that.

 

Billy Mason’s warrant for arrest was issued, and as soon as Cooper heard about it, he called Jamie. Billy already had a record; therefore, it was easy to identify him. The Captain gave Jamie her Detective badge and took her off her desk job as soon as he got the call from the Commissioner. His message was clear, find and arrest Billy Mason. Joel frowned at the order. The Captain just said for the murder of Ashram Pillay. He followed the Captain into his office.

“Good, spares me the trouble of looking for you. Hand over your gun and badge. You are suspended pending an investigation.”

The Captain’s words felt to Joel like a hit in the chest.

“Capt…”

“Now Joel, I want your badge now! IA is already waiting for you. Call your union and get a lawyer.” The captain stood with an outstretched hand waiting for the detective to give up his badge. Joel reluctantly gave up his badge and placed his issued gun on the desk.

“Why am I being suspended?” The captain looked at him. _Where to start_?

“There are charges of misconduct against you. Violation of a minor’s right, and failure to investigate evidence in a case.

 

“The Pillay case?” Joel asked. The Captain nodded.

“Chief that was open and shut…”

“So you said at the time Joel, and yet, the Commissioner is on my ass to get your badge and give Jack Cooper all our cooperation. You fucked up Joel, you have more than once, and Cooper said he would one day get your ass. Today is that day Joel when this is over; Cooper is going to hang you in public.” The ex-detective could not believe what he was hearing, but he saw the two IA agents waiting for him outside the office. He left.

 

Jamie Pierce walked into the station with Billy Mason in cuffs. Half the force was still out following up leads looking for him. She had no smile of victory on her face, she had known what, the son of a bitch did and where he was for nearly four months now. It did not surprise the Captain too much that Jamie was the arresting detective and that she brought him in on her own. She let one of the officers take him to an interview room.

“Captain.”

“Pierce.” He looked at her intensely. “You knew all along. How did you know?”

“Sir, it was during the rape investigation. That girl might be capable of a lot of things, but gunning down a man is not one of it.” The Captain nodded.

“Get ready for an interview; your investigation started this shit storm, I will call the Commissioner. Moreover, Jamie, you had better make sure that you make this department look good. Joel’s arrest is going to be fucking ruthless, make sure your story is headline news tomorrow.” She did not know whether to smile or throw up.

********

Jamie called Henry to ask if she could come over. He was happy; he tried to get hold of Cooper all day. Not knowing that Cooper was already really drunk with Eoin Cavan in the pub where Jamie picked up Billy.

  
When Henry opened the door for Jamie, she stuffed a six-pack of beer into his chest. She already had an open one in her hand carrying the other five.

“Please do come in?” He said to the open hallway. Jamie was already on the couch when she switched on the TV and turned up the sound. Henry just stood there. It was Jamie, making a statement that the investigation into Mr. Pillay’s death revealed new evidence and that the case remained open. That the BPD continued to investigate even though there was a trial. She stated that the accused did not mention any others involved and if she had, this case would have been wrapped up much sooner, that the BPD did all it could to see justice prevail. When asked about Joel Petersons’ arrest, she downplayed it, stating that he interviewed a minor without Social Services present.

Henry sat beside her and opened his beer. There was footage of her arresting Billy in O’Malley’s, all courtesy of Cooper. Boston had a new hero cop. The Captain and the Commissioner were happy, and the Governor had an appointment with Cooper for lunch the next day.

 

*********

Gina had ten minutes to pack up her cell and say goodbye to her unit mates. No one told her why or where she would be going. Her biggest fear was that they decided to transfer her to a State prison sooner than her eighteenth birthday. Instead, she moved into a single cell between the infirmary and the guard watch station. She was in this cell before. The last week of her medical care. It was the safest cell in the entire facility. Something had happened.

 

The meeting between Cooper and the Governor went well. Cooper would not take his usual commission, but he kept on bargaining until he had a good settlement for Gina. It was over half of the overall lawsuit. Of what he asked for initially, but it was still a good deal. He would retract all the other civil lawsuits; including the one of Joel, with the promise, that Joel had no chance of actual reinstatement as a cop. For less money and keeping his mouth shut, he also got Jamie a promotion without her knowing. She had to write and pass her Sergeant exam, and Joel’s old job was hers.

 

The deal he made with the Governor, officially handled the day before the appeal by the DA himself. _And the fuckers call me corrupt_? He thought to himself. In the end, everyone won. Gina had a clean record, her trial, and stay in Framingham would become a sealed juvenile court record, the Governor gave her legal Emancipation of a minor and in a few days, her release would be official. The BPD and justice departments saved face through Jamie and Billy Manson’s arrest. He eventually had his revenge and fucked Joel Peterson over. He had already handed AI every single dodgy case of Joel. If he did not go to prison, he would not even be able to become a security guard at a convenience store. All in all a good week.

 

Wednesday morning Cooper met with the DA, and they officially settled all the lawsuits. He received a cheque, and with that, he went to the bank to open an account for Gina. He had an official consent from his client to act in any capacity on her behalf. He invested half and placed the other half in a savings account for her. He got her a bank card. He called Jamie and asked her to go shopping for Gina, just the essentials.

Thursday the appeal with Nelson and Judge Krause went as promised. The ruling overturned, and Gina Snow declared innocent on account of the murder in the first. An order issued for her immediate release. Judge Krause knew what happened to the lawsuits. He was not happy, but he also knew that the State was saving millions in legal entanglements by doing it the Governor’s way. All the relevant forms were couriered to Framingham.

 

Gina was unexpectedly shaken awake by a guard and escorted to the Warden’s office the next morning. It took some doing by many people to get everything in order so soon, but the circumstances and a call from the Governor made it all possible.

 

“Gina, please come in?” It was only her second time in this office. The Warden certainly looked like a woman that worked, not just another official. Gina stood, as was required, but she moved when the Warden asked her to sit down as she dismissed the guard. That was unusual.

“Gina, I have a few papers for you to sign?” Gina clenched her fist she was scared again.

“Am I being transferred to a State prison?” The Warden looked up.

“Dear gods, has no one told you why you are here?” Gina shook her head. The Warden got up and walked over to Gina, she would never do this with any other inmate, and she leaned against her desk and took Gina’s hands into her own. Her voice was thick when she spoke; it was a moment she would remember for her entire career. The woman had wished many inmates a better life in this office, but the circumstances with Gina was very different. It was her first prisoner released because she was innocent.

 

“Honey, your appeal case was heard yesterday. Your release paper came through yesterday. The charge of murder was retracted, and your record cleared.” Gina looked at her, for a moment as if she did not understand, then she let her head fall into her hands that the Warden was still holding. Despite all the toned muscles and broad shoulders, Gina still was only a child, and her entire frame shook as she cried. The Warden placed her, one hand on Gina’s shoulder and rubbed it softly.

“It is alright Honey. You will be alright now.” Gina looked up at her; she covered her mouth with her left hand to help stop the sobbing.

“Thank you, Warden.” The woman gave her another warm smile and retook her place behind her desk.

“Just sign these. One of the officers will return your effects to you as soon as you hand in your clothes. Detective Pierce dropped off some clothes for you yesterday. They will fit you.” Gina signed where the Warden indicated. Her hand was shaking. She wanted to believe Henry and Jamie the day they came to her, but so many bad things have happened in her life, it was like a dark shadow following her that she did not place any hope in them. Gina gave the Warden a shaking hand. She shook it and before Gina left the Warden added with a lot of emotion in her voice.

“I am sorry that you landed here Gina, and even more so because I could not protect you better.” Gina smiled at her.

“Warden, here was my best chance. I would not have made it anywhere else.”

The Warden sat quietly at her desk for a long time. Gina Snow was certainly not someone she would forget anytime soon.

 

Gina handed in all her clothes; she got dressed in the civvies Jamie dropped off. _Dear gods_ , it was a skinny bikini cut jean, and she did not even know what the shoes were if you could call it shoes. With it was a simple white ladies shirt. Gina did not want to think of what she looked like. If it is even close to the discomfort that she felt, it was bad. Gina handed her prison gear back, and in return, she was given a plastic bag with her items and clothes. She took out the bracelet. She breathed easier once it was in her hand; she slipped the ring on and clipped the bracelet around the right wrist.

“That is beautiful,” the discharge officer commented.

“Thank you.” Gina gave her a shy smile. She looked at her pair of jeans, boots, and jacket in the packet. _Did she grow that much, since the day of her arrest_? Her incarceration has been just over eighteen months. The bracelet fitted perfectly though, it always had, as if it grew up with her. She moved her fingers over the rune letters at the top and watched them change. She breathed in deep. She felt safe again.

She asked if any of the officers could use the clothes or hand it over to a charity. The release officer took it back, and Gina signed another form for it. The Warden and her day shift unit guard greeted her by the gate. The guard told the women in her group that Gina was innocent all along and her release cleared.

Therefore, Gina received another Lilo and Stitch card, warning her that all of them would beat the crap out of her if she landed up there again. It made her smile. She could see most of them through the fence as they were in the yard. She waved. They waved back. The Warden shook her hand, and the guard wished her well. The gate opened, and she walked out in the clothes she hated, a Chinese puzzle box and two handmade Lilo and Stitch cards. All of her possessions.

 

Once out the gate, she could see a yellow Bug and an even more yellow Ferrari, and it did not take too much thought as to what car belonged to which man. Henry walked over to her slowly. He kept his promise, but it still did not mean that she trusted him. He had tears in his eyes, and he took her into a long warm hug. She felt stiff in his arms. He did not care, she was in his arms, and she was safe. He placed a soft, chaste kiss on her cheek and took the little plastic bag from her. “Is this all?” She nodded. Next was Jamie. They spoke a bit, and Gina thanked her for everything. Jamie was a big part of her recovery after the assault. Cooper stood big and smiled at her. She shook her head. “Thanks, counselor!” He gave a big free laugh.

“It is I who need to thank you, Miss Snow. You helped to bring down one very crooked cop and a personal enemy of mine.”

“Is that why you took my case?”

 

“Gina I have been taking on cases from criminals forever to get to Joel Peterson. Few pan out and Joel was never disgraced. When I seized your case, I thought it would be just like all the others, and I might get you a reduced sentence because he cut a corner. But that hack of yours changed everything.” He looked at her very seriously. “Gina your case, because of all the misconduct and wrongdoing became my mission. It has been a while since I have worked a case this hard, and I hope you will find my efforts rewarding.” She gave him a questioning look. “Henry will explain everything to you.” He patted her on the back and turned to his car, inviting Jamie to ride with him.

“Cooper, can you please thank Eoin for me when you see him again. His girl kept me safe.”

“Will do, keep safe kiddo and if you don’t, you know where to find me?” It evoked a smile from Gina. Henry smiled at her enviously.

“You know Eoin Cavan?”

“Doesn’t everyone in Boston?” She asked and got into the Bug with Henry. Eoin had a girl follow Gina everywhere after her attack. So besides an extra guard on her, she had the Irish mob looking out for her.


	10. Shining, you need to start explaining yourself?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waring, steamy femslash  
> Swearing and more Gaelic

**Chapter 10**

 

The short drive to the city was in silence. Gina did not ask anything. Henry did not offer anything. Gina reluctantly made peace with her fate, and now all of a sudden everything was different again. She had no idea as to where to begin. Henry drove to the apartment and parked the Bug outside. He took the packet with the two cards and the box with him as he led the way to his apartment.

He unlocked it and gave Gina the key.

“It is a spare key for you. So that you can come and go while I am away.” She looked at the key and then looked at him.

“I’m staying here?”

“Do you have another place?” She shook her head. “Well, then it is settled. I made the futon up for you in the lounge. There is a cupboard and hanging space for you in my room. Com’on.” He was careful not to touch her even though it would have been the most natural thing in the world for him to lead her by the hand. He showed her the place and the bathroom, and then he turned to the bed. “I’ll let you change; gods only know what Jamie thought buying you those clothes!”

He closed the door behind him, and Gina looked at the clothes he picked for her. All the tags were still on, but they all fitted perfectly. Black bootleg, regular fit jeans, black boots, a plain white T-shirt and a black leather jacket. The under ware were boxers and a sports bra. Everything was perfect. It made her wonder how Henry knew all this. She also found a wallet with a bank card in her name, a few hundred dollars in it; it also had a clip chain for her jeans. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror.  _How did he know what I like to wear_?

 

She met him in the kitchen where he was preparing a frozen pizza. There were two beers on the counter and a packet of smokes with a Zippo. He turned around. Gave her an approving look. “Much better.” He turned and spoke to her. “There is a balcony, well, something that can pass as one. I would appreciate if you smoke there?”  _Whatever_. She thought as she took the beer and cigarettes. The Zippo was a lady’s with her name on it. Not Gina, but her full name. She kept on looking at the name, flicking the lighter open and closed as she smoked, sipping on the beer in between. They needed to talk. She killed the butt and climbed back into the flat. The _balcony_ was part of the fire escape, and she had to climb through the window to get to it.

"Shining, you need to start explaining yourself?” _Always to the point_ , he thought. He sighed, but took a swing of his beer and began to explain everything Cooper had done for her, including the bank account, the investment and how much it was. He told her about the Governor’s legal Emancipation of a minor that he signed for her. Henry told her about Joel and his subsequent arrest. He also told her what happened to Mighty Mel. It turned out those female prisoners had even less tolerance for a rapist than their male counterparts, she received a beating and was found shanked in the shower in the State prison. He explained everything and Gina listened. When he finished, she placed the lighter between them.

“It’s a welcome home gift.”

“Home?”

“Well, yeah, home.”

“And the name?” He looked at the lighter, then to her.

“Well, it is your real name, isn’t it?”

 

Faster than Henry could think, she had him across the table in a very tight grip. He was surprised at the speed and strength she had. He struggled a bit, but he realized the more he struggled, the tighter she held on. He held up his hands, and her grip relaxed.

“I know you don’t have all your memories, but you have some. You remember killing the Black Fairy…” Gina released him. She could not wait to hear this story. “I was there, so was every person you know, all of your family and friends.”  Henry watched her.  Trying to assess how she would take the news. He carried on, treading carefully.  “The Savior was invoking the Dark curse to stop the Black Fairy.” She nodded her head. “The Black Fairy came out of nowhere. And while everyone tried to stop her, the dagger fell, you plunged it into her heart.” Gina’s jaw was tight. “What are the colors?” Henry frowned, then he realized.

“It is magic.” He said softly, wondering how she would react to the news. “Every person has a unique color, black, white, red, blue, green and yours is silver, like your hair.” The tears were now flowing freely from Gina’s face. Henry had just described her nightmare, well one of them; there were so many others. She looked at him.

“They told me I was crazy.” Henry read the report that Jamie gave him.

“No Gina, it is all real. Including Neal.” She looked at him and shook her head.

“No, no, Neal is an imaginary friend.” Henry saw too much anger there to pursue the matter. He took out another beer for her and went to get one of his books. He showed her the last page. The picture was exactly how her dream ended.

 

“And this is the Savior?” She pointed to Emma. “Yes.”

“And this,” she pointed to the book. “This is the reason why you helped me? You think the Savior and I can break this curse?”

“Yes,” Henry answered feeling selfish all of a sudden under Gina’s accusing stare.  She wanted to slap him; she felt the need to choke him; she wanted to get very drunk. Gina just shook her head and sat down again. She flicked her hand over the bracelet and showed him the name written there. He touched the bracelet only now realizing what it was. He did not hide his tears this time. Somehow, she had managed to turn the Dark One dagger into a bracelet. The Dark One’s full name on it, her name.

 

From the moment she saw the dagger in his book, she knew why her name had power and why the bracelet was so important. She had both light and dark magic, and the dark magic contained in the bracelet. She did not know how or why she just knew it to be true.

“How much of a gap is there in my memory?”

“Do you remember your parents?” She shook her head. “Do you remember changing the dagger to the bracelet?” Again no. Henry scratched his head. “What is your first memory?”  She looked at him with such sadness.  “Standing next to the Paul Revere statue in Boston, waiting for someone.”

“That means you cannot recall the first six years of your life. Everything I found out about you after your sentence started when you were six.” He knew from Neal that she did not have the bracelet when he used a magic bean to jump through the portal. “There are a few missing pieces.” She frowned.

“Like what?”

Henry swallowed, he saw her reaction to Neal, and he was trying to steer clear of that.

“Someone followed you.”

“Followed me where?” She asked.

Henry forgot she knows nothing about magic. “When you killed the Black Fairy, you became the new Dark One. It took you to the Dark One vault, which is near Camelot.” She placed her hand over her mouth. Everything inside of her wanted her to run. She also had a dream of her consumed in boiling black lava, materializing on top of a vault. She nodded for him to continue.

“So someone went to Camelot to find you. Your mother sent him to you, he found you.

“Neal?”

“Yes,” Henry said softly. She clenched her fist. “He stayed with you until you both decided it was time to come to this Realm, to Boston. It was so that you could grow up. The Dark One is immortal, if you stayed in the Magic Realm, you would have stayed six forever.”

 _Okay, so that explains that_. Gina thought. “Neal said he waited for you, but you never came through the portal.”

“Well, I am here now, so something went wrong.” Henry nodded.

“From what Neal told me, you were fine. You were Gina…”

“What do you mean?”

Henry felt sad. “Gina, your hair color is blond, not this gray silver. Something happened in Camelot. When Neal left you, your hair was blond, and you had no tattoos or the bracelet.” She nodded, not knowing what to say.

After a while, she asked; “What about the puzzle box, what is it and what is inside?”

“I do not know.” Gina nodded.  “Do I have parents?”  Henry knew the question would come. He only had no idea how to answer it.

“Gina, you have an entire family that loves you! It is just that at the moment…”

“They are cursed?”  Gina finished.  Henry nodded.

“And my memories? I have nightmares about some of the things you described, but I do not have the memories, will it return?”

He looked at her, wondering if she wanted them back. “Maybe if you enter a Magical Realm again.”  He said slowly.

“And I suppose you just happen to have one of those laying around?” She asked, dripping with sarcasm.

 

Henry gave his lost girl a big smile. “As a matter of fact, I do.” He took out The Author pen and tapped it in the air. The Author door appeared. He took Gina’s hand.

“I will be with you at all times. It is the Realm, of the Sea Witch*, it is a pirate ship that is captained by a woman, and I am recording the story.” Gina swallowed hard and took his hand as they walked through the door.

Gina felt the rush of power as she walked through the door. It took her awhile to contain it. Both her fists clenched, and she was bent over, trying to keep the magic from taking over, when she was sure it was safe, she looked at Henry, and he gasped. Her eyes were the same gray as her hair before they turned their usual, brownish-green.

 

“Are you alright?” She indicated yes and then opened up her hands. In her right hand was a ball of dark gray energy, in the other was a silver-white ball. He looked at it. He had seen it before, when his mother freed Merlin, the use of white and black magic together. He continued to look at the energy in her hands until the dark gray matter, turned lighter, not quite as light as the other ball, but significantly lighter. She figured out that the magic came from emotions, thoughts, energy. The universe being one. She knew this; this was more natural to her than anything she had ever felt before.

 

“Can you control it?” She looked at him unsurely. She took a deep breath and placed her hands together, her finger similar to a Kung Fu praying mantises motion, she let the magic go. It swirled, forming a tree in front of him. Henry breathed. The tree looked normal, healthy and green. Gina closed her hands into fists again. Nothing about the experience felt strange or new; she had done this before. Gina saw a black man standing to her right. She turned to him, he was familiar, but she could not place him. “Well done, little Gina.” He had said before he disappeared.

 

“Who the hell was that?” She asked Henry.

“Who?”  
“The man that just stood over there!” Henry swallowed.

“Was he green, creepy looking with crocodile leathers on?”

“No, what are you crazy?”

Henry sighed with relief. “No, no I am not, but it is not unusual for the Dark One to see and communicate with other Dark Ones before them. The man I described was Rumpelstiltskin. He was the Dark One for the longest. If you see him, or a black haired woman, dressed in black, with black wings, do not listen to them.”

“The Black Fairy?”

“Yes and the last Dark One.” Henry took her by the arm; “I think this is enough for today?” He opened the Author door, and they walked back to his flat. The moment the door closed in the magic realm, the tree Gina created, instantly died…

 

Gina felt exhausted. She just crashed on the bed Henry made up for her. Tomorrow will be a new day, and hopefully a less weird one. She warned him not to wake her if she dreams, but they did not come. She felt calm the next morning. Her body was a bit stiff, getting used to an actual mattress, even if it was a sleeper couch. She cleared up the lounge and made herself some coffee and toast. A very sleepy Henry met her in the kitchen.

“Gods, what time is it.”

“Half past five.” He gave her a look and a yawn. “Prison time?” She laughed.

“No, nightmare time.” He stopped.

“Did you have one, did you remember more?” She gave his face a light tap.

“No, if I had, you would wake up with me screaming.”

 

Gina showered and put the same clothes on that Henry bought her. She needed to get some things done today. Gina left Henry a note, saying that she would be out for most of the day. He was in the shower when she left. He read the card, hoped it was true, that she would come back, and not just disappear again.

 

She went to the DMV to apply for both a car and motorcycle license; she gave them copies of everything they needed. She got appointments for both and was happy that she only had to wait a few days.

Gina hopped a bus to one of the biggest malls in Boston. She knew she would find everything else she needed there. Cooper sorted all her financial issues, she knew she had a lot of money, but she still spent it moderately. She bought clothes, sleepwear, and underwear for a week. All the kind of stuff she liked, all black. She hopped a bus again to a specialist shop in midtown. She might not think of herself as remarkable, but she was. She was beautiful, and the long gray hair was unusual.

 

Her face plastered on newspapers and stands and everywhere she went; she heard the whispers and could see the people pointing. She got off the bus a block away from where she wanted to be. She got a haircut. She also changed her clothes in the bathroom of the hairdresser and applied makeup, a thick makeup Avril Lavigne look, and with the new hairstyle and tight leather pants, the low tank top and black jacket she had the complete ’80 Marie Fredriksson’s _The Look_. The hairdresser, who thought it was a shame to cut her beautiful hair now, whistled.

“Honey, you are going to break hearts with that look.” She smiled and paid him.

She walked the few blocks to the specialist knife shop. She noticed that more and more men were turning to have a second look. She knew she did not look anything like the girl that two days ago left prison. She had been in the shop before, many times, but no one recognized her. She was glad for it.

 

If there was one thing Gina knew inside out, it was knives. She asked to see several. Gina felt their weight in her hand; looked at their balance and the type of steel it was. She wanted to test them out, and one of the salespeople took her to a back room with several posts and dart boards. Gina picked three heavy throwing knives that felt right in her hand. She flicked them one after the other out of her right hand. The vixen pulled them out of the post and threw them this time. They all pegged the way she wanted them. Next, she did the same with a boot dagger and two Tanto knives. She was not buying them for throwing, but it would be good to see. The last knife was a Marine issued combat knife. After testing them all, she took two small fixed blade Karambit knives and a pocket knife, just because it was a very cool design. Gina paid for it, immediately placing the sheath of the combat knife in the small of her back.

 

It was after midday, and she still needed to make two stops. She took the bus to the south side of Boston. This area, she was most familiar to her. The man in the motorcycle gear shop did not recognize her, but when she asked for Mick, they sent her to the back of the shop. Mick gave her a frown before he smiled.

“Well fuck me, if it isn’t Gina Snow.” She gave him a brought smile. “Hey Mick, I need you to do a job for me please?” Mick was huge, as was his brother, which would be her next stop.

“What ya need kid?” She took out three identical leather waistcoats. The black leather was soft but thick; she took a notepad from his workstation and drew the design she needed. She handed him all the knives, except the pocket knife and boot dagger. He looked at it. “Heavy.” He said. “When you need it, I’m doing a job for Eoin?” She shook her head.

“Take your time, gonna be here a bit.” He walked around the workstation and pulled her into a bear hug.

“Glad you’re out kid, and I’m sorry for the shit you got into, fucking pigs.”

She smiled at him before she set off a few meters to Tommy’s shop. Tommy recognized her immediately, despite her dramatic change.

“Hey boys!” He called out as he was walking to her. “It’s fucking Ginny Snow.” He looked at her. “Is this how you clean up kid?” She shrugged.

“It works, not too many people that recognize me now.”

“Sexy, but sure as fuck not what I expected.” His voice was grave and disapproving, but he pulled her into a hug, just like his brother moments ago. Gina let her head rest on is brought chest for a moment. Tommy was one of the few people who make her felt entirely safe. One by one the _boys_ came down and greeted her.

Tommy dragged her over to a bench and poured them each a glass of Irish whiskey. He held up his glass. “ _Le dea-shláinte agus ghaois_!” He tipped his glass against hers and with a big smile she answered him back.

“I fucking hope so, _le dea-shláinte agus ghaois_.” He laughed, and they both downed the drink.

“So what brings you here Gina?” His voice was serious again. “I am not buying stolen parts from you again; you now had a taste of the shit life, I want you to stay out of trouble, ya hear me?”

Gina nodded.

“Sure Tommy, but I need a job or at least something to keep me busy for a while.”

“What ya had in mind?” She looked to the one side of his garage.

“Your scrap heap. I know there are at least four classics in there. I will build them for you if I can fix one of them up for myself?”

 

He folded his big arms over his broad chest. Most men would shit themselves at the site. Gina only lifted an eyebrow. “You build four classics, the fifth one can be yours.”

“Deal.” She said and shook his massive hand. “Just keep tabs on all the cost Gina?” She nodded. “Do you have a place to sleep?”

“Yeah, I do.” He gave her a stern look.

“Now little Miss Snow, you would not start out a business arrangement by fucking lying to me?’ She took out the spare key that Henry gave her and held it out to him. He nodded. “Then try to sleep there, more than what you fucking sleep here?”

 

He had known Gina for a few years. She placed bike parts together like other people put a puzzle together, and once she started, she did not stop. He was certain that by this time tomorrow that there would be three distinct piles of bike parts laying in his garage. He had no idea how she did it.  


“Right see you tomorrow Boss.” She yelled at him and turned to walk away when he called her back.

“Try to wear something less, fucking sexy. It disturbs me, and the boys won't be able to think with that body around.”

“Sure.” She smiled again and left.

 

She was telling Henry about her day and everything she did over a pizza and beer that she bought. She was surprised when she just paid for the beer. Her new look certainly made her seem older than what she was. Henry was amazed at how quickly she appeared to have fallen into a new routine, and her new life. The conversation of today was ordinary, very unlike the day they shared yesterday, or the day Gina had before that. She still had a look in her eyes that did not belong to someone so young, but maybe, just maybe, she could have some normality for a while.

Gina threw away the empty pizza box and told Henry she was going out and that he should not wait up. He frowned. She looked at him as if he was slow.

“I have an itch. It needs to be scratched.”

“Oh…” He said when he finally caught on and blushed. She shook her head and set out for the night. She knew exactly where to go. You had to be eighteen to go in, but she was sure she would not have a problem. The night was warm. She wore her leather pants, boots with a three-inch heel and one of the low cut waistcoats she bought earlier the day, a black lace bra clearly visible between the V of the vest and her small but inviting cleavage.

 

She went in without any questions. She got a beer at the bar and looked around. She was not planning to stay long. Within a few minutes, she got her mark. A small twenty-something woman with a reddish pixie hairstyle and voluptuous lips. Gina ordered two more beers and made her way over to the woman. She looked up into Gina’s eyes, and that was it. She had never seen eyes like these before, and they had lust and desire in them.

“Your place or mine?” The woman asked.

“I have a roommate,” Gina replied.

“My place it is.”

They both finished their beer, and the little Pixie led her out. They drove a while in the Golf before they went through a security checkpoint. The Pixie lived on campus.

“Don’t worry; I have my own room in a commune.” Gina just gave her that intense lustful look. There were of course opportunities in prison, but it was seldom comfortable or private. And after the rape, no one approached Gina unless she made the first move. This night was going to be very different. After watching the naked bodies of beautiful Latino’s for over a year, she was planning to sate herself.

 

The Pixie did not ask her name, she just lead the way to her room and locked the door. Gina looked at her. She was stunning, and she had to remind herself to be gentle and slow. With the rush, she was feeling it would be over in five minutes and she did not want that. Gina wanted to fuck this girl long and hard until she was unable to stand on her legs. She moved forward where the Pixie was still leaning against the closed door.

Gina had caressed her face before she leaned in for a kiss. The difference in height was apparent, and Gina lifted up one of her legs and supported her firm ass to bring Pixie to her own stature. The woman was surprised at the strength of this leather-clad beauty. Her hands moved over Gina’s muscular arms, her fingers tracing a tattoo on her upper arm. The light kiss that Gina started with was now turning very passionate. She pulled back for a moment and saw Pixie had the same desire. Gina pulled the woman around her waist and walked over to the bed with her. She placed her down gently.

 

“Don’t,” Gina commanded in that husky voice, and her voice alone sent shivers down Pixie’s spine. She was about to undress, but Gina stopped it. Gina took off her boots and socks before she did the same for the woman. She placed herself on top of the woman. Resting most of her weight on her arms. She kissed her. Consuming her mouth as her hands slowly unbuttoned the blouse. Gina pulled her up and discarded the blouse into a corner. Pixie had a red lace bra on, her dark erect nipples pushing through the fabric. Gina leaned her head down and took one of her nipples into her mouth; she knew the fabric would give a lot of friction. To her satisfaction, the little redhead’s hands raked into Gina’s hair, pulling her down harder.

 

 _Fuck, I want you so badly_! Gina thought, her hand slipped between the woman’s legs, she rubbed her lightly through the fabric of her jeans. Her pelvis rocked into the touch. “Patience Honey,” Gina whispered to her, Pixie moaning from the loss of the warm mouth on her nipple. Gina unbuttoned the jeans and with ease pulled the pants off. She had a matching pair of lace panties. Gina could smell her need, but she traced a finger over the lace, just to make sure. Her wetness made Gina smile and very hungry. She had a lot of stamina; the problem was controlling it, pacing herself. She bent down, inhaling the woman’ sent.  _Gods, it was fabulous_! Every woman smelled slightly different, and each one produced their warm juices in a variety of ways. This one was basically pouring her wetness out.

 

Gina inhaled her again. She wanted this to last, and she wanted to consume this entire woman, taste her, feel her and then fuck her senseless.  She slipped out of her pants, and the vest came off easily. Pixie looked at her.

“Gods, you are absolutely beautiful.” Gina gave her a warm smile.

“Any preferences?” Pixie usually only allowed certain things with partners that she knew, but this girl already had her head spinning, and she wanted to know what more the wonder could do to her.

“Bottom drawer and it is clean.” Gina nodded as she opened the bottom drawer. Filled with any and every sex toy a lesbian could desire. She picked a comfortable strap on, with a good sized dildo. Not too thick, not too long. She did not want to hurt the girl, and for what she planned, she was going to need something she could take for a while. Gina turned to the bed; Pixie got another flood of wetness when she saw this woman with the strap-on. She swallowed, ready for this woman to enter her. Gina had other ideas. She unclasped her bra and Pixie gasped at what she saw. Her breasts were not fully developed, but they were firm and full. Gina came to lay on the bed again, her assault actually beginning. She kissed the woman deep and passionately. Her tongue was taking demand of the mouth under it. She moved over the woman’s neck. Giving her small nips and sucking the soft flesh, while her one hand was gently massaging one breast. Pixie displayed a thin layer of sweat on her tummy Gina liked it. She moved her mouth to her breasts and was now sucking the right one hard, while the other nipple pinched between her thumb and forefinger, still through the lace. Noises were coming from deep in her throat. Gina fucking loved women. The way they felt, the way they squirmed under her touch, the softness of their skin and oh gods, that essence that was a woman. Thick, tasty, dripping asking for attention. Pixie was still rocking against the pressure that her lover denied her. She felt incredibly turned on, and all she wanted was this beauty inside her.

 

Gina kissed her way down to the place of both their needs. She grabbed Pixie by the hips and pulled the lace off in desperate urgency. Her mouth closed over her desperate need and Pixie started to rock into Gina’s mouth. Gina smiled and pulled away. Pixie begged for more. She loved it when women pleaded.

“Patience honey.” Gina reminded her again. When she descended, she made sure that Pixie’s juices spread all around her. She slipped her middle finger into the very tight ass. Pixie gasped, that was new. Her thumb went into her womanhood, and when she felt the stimulation inside herself between the two fingers, she moaned. It was different, but it felt so good. She got stimulated like never before. Gina smiled. In a moment she would have this woman so aroused she would forget her name. Gina flicked the little hood, protecting its essence. The little bud made its appearance, and with the stimulation already going on, Gina placed her warm mouth on the little bud, which instantly grew in her mouth. This woman felt perfect, she tasted fantastic, and from the cries and constant moans she heard, Gina knew she was giving her supreme pleasure.

 

Pixie did not know what to do. The movement from Gina’s hand inside her ass with the inside touch on that very soft, susceptible spot from both sides was insatiable, her clit sucked not so gently, and she was starting to feel the build of the ultimate climax. Her hands went into the silver hair again, wanting more. Her hips were rocking with the same motion Gina was giving her. She closed her eyes and bent her back into an angle. Gina did not let up for one second. Pixie’s nails dug deep into Gina’s shoulders, trying to hold on to the woman that was bringing her to such heights. When her release came, it was hard. Her body taunt in spasm. Her voice yelling out for Gina not to stop. Gina continued thrusting into the woman, while her tongue and lips kept up their friction. She felt the woman’s warm walls closing around her finger, the little nub ‘jumping’ in her mouth and another long moan as her nails dug in deeper. Gina flicked her tongue over her a few more times, pulling every last shiver out of the beautiful woman. They both were covered in a sheen of sweat. Gina gave the girl a few moments to recover before her onslaught started again.

She spread the woman open and entered her with the pink dildo. Gina moved slowly into the woman for Pixie to get used to the new invasion. The little redhead was holding Gina by her hips, moving with the rhythm Gina had set. It was comfortable, it took a while, but when she started to feel another climax building, she whispered to Gina: “Harder, please? Fuck me harder?” Gina obliged. She could feel every movement; the dildo was designed that way, to give both women ultimate pleasure. She pulled in and out of the woman, each thrust a little harder, a little deeper. When Pixie’s moans got louder, Gina let go. She was moving fast and hard. Holding the woman tight, her legs wide, Gina felt her burning need. When the small woman started to scream again, Gina gave her exactly what she asked for. Pixie climaxed again, just before Gina felt her own release. However, she still had an intense hunger. Without warning, Gina turned the woman around, spread her legs again, and took her from behind. Pixie realized this was her partner's fantasy, her release, so she complied. With her legs wide and her firm ass in the air, she gave Gina full access and full permission.

 

Gina plunged into the woman’s wetness. Pixie was bracing herself against the wall. Gina took the opportunity to be a little bad. She pinched Pixie’s left nipple hard, while her right hand scratched over her right shoulder. It shocked Pixie into another sensation. She was breathing hard, and from what she felt, Gina was not easing up, and she was just fucking her harder. Gina felt a warm tingle. She grabbed the woman around the waist, holding her with her right arm as her left hand went in search of the little nub again. Pixie gasped as she felt the woman fucking her starting to manipulate her very sensitive clit as well. The begging started all over again.

“Oh gods, harder, please fuck me harder!” Pixie yelled, begging for more. Gina was starting to feel the strain on her arms and legs, and she knew if she was feeling it, this woman must be exhausted. The begging fueled her on and when she removed her hands and grabbed the redhead by her hips to fill her more the moaning and begging became constant. Gina felt the release her body was seeking building up, and she knew it would be massive. She looked down at the woman under her, sweat glistening on her back. Her tight ass meeting Gina thrust for thrush, their juices mixing with ultimate pleasure. She was surprised to see both her hands glowing with the silver light. She threw her head back as she felt her release. It felt like she could cum and then cum again. Therefore, she did. She rode out every little spasm that shot through her body. With her last few thrusts, she felt Pixie go stiff and yelled out another release.  _Gods this sex was fabulous_! Gina thought. She slowly released the woman. Soaked in sweat and Gina could see she was exhausted.

“Gods woman, it was incredible.” She said, and Gina gave her a soft kiss on the mouth. She held Gina’s face for a moment, looking into her eyes. Then the little redhead closed her own and fell asleep. Gina watched her sleep for a while before she got up and got dressed. She left a small note. “Thank you, Honey; you are lovely and very unusual.” She tugged the sleeping woman in and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

 

Gina walked back to the apartment, which was not that far away. She did not have that many sexual experiences, but she had fantasies, and this one was beyond expectation. Gina could not remember the last time she felt this free and satisfied. She hoped the little redhead would make it to her class in the morning. Gina knew she would not sleep tonight. She entered the flat, had a shower and a change of clothes before she set off to Tommy’s garage.

By the time, Tommy opened the shop; Gina was already busy with the first bike in the back. She climbed a wall to get in. Tommy just shook his head and made a note to get her a set of keys and the combination to the security system.

Gina was busy putting together parts of the second and third bike when a certain little redhead woke up, wondering if last night was a dream. She had already missed three classes, and when she tried to get out of bed, she found herself very sore and stiff. Nope, not a dream. She saw the note and smiled. She felt the same sentiment. “Gods, I hope I bump into you again Roxette” She mumbled to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * The Sea Witch was a series of three books that I read as a child, of a girl who grew up on her father's pirate ship and took it over upon his death and became the most notorious pirate ship on the seven seas.  
> Sea Witch series Kobus Snyman  
> o Seeheks (1978), (Sea Witch)  
> o Seeheks - Godin van die Boekaniers (1979), (Goddess of the Buccaneers)  
> o Seeheks - Kapernimf (1979) (The highjack nymph)  
> o Seeheks - Wraak oor die see (1982). (Revenge over the sea)


	11. Don’t take too long Miss Swan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family, friends and underage drinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think?

**Chapter 11**

 

Emma was lying in bed thinking of Regina. It has been more than a month since she walked out on the woman. Except for the night Henry left, they have not spent time together. She missed her friend but also knew she could not go back. Regina was too proud. It was either all or nothing. She made it clear to Emma what she wanted, and now her fear was realized, she lost something very precious. She could not think of a way to make it better or right. Instead of trying, she just kept on pushing people away, not just Regina, but everyone. She had caused the immense hurt she felt inside, she would carry it alone. She did not understand her self-inflicted punishment, but she thought that she deserved it. All of it. She was harder on herself than anyone could ever be. She worked herself to the bone. Regina had thought about punishing the Sheriff, but when her reports came in on time, every Monday and Friday and they contained double the information they usual provided, she realized Emma was doing it herself. She visited one of the other Deputy Stations every day, following up on their progress and assisting with any open cases.

 

By the time Henry came home for Thanksgiving weekend, he was shocked to see both of his mothers. Emma was thinner, withdrawn and she had black rings under her eyes from not sleeping. Regina looked better, she always did, but her smile was rare and slow to appear. When plans for Thanksgiving dinner at Mary Margarete’s place got underway, Emma declined her invitation. That was it for Henry. He asked David to locate her, and he drove over to where she was. Emma was glad but surprised to see him.

“Henry.” She gave him a smile and a hug.

“Mom we need to talk.” She took him over to a bench near a park. It was a cold day, but these days, Emma hardly felt anything. “She loves you. Do you know that?” Henry asked almost accusingly. She nodded, unable to look at him. “Then why, why are you not together? I had never seen her as happy as the time you were around all the time, even when you were sleeping in the guest bedroom. You both were happy!”

Emma wiped a tear. “It is not that simple Henry.”

“Not that simple? You forget that I have grown up with the two of you. I have watched you. Even when you were in love with other people, the two of you always found each other, always stood up for each other. When no one thought Mom could change, you were the only one that stood by her, supported her, and believed in her. Gods Emma, you two have loved each other from the moment you chopped down her apple tree.”

 

Emma looked at him. It has been a long time since he had called her by her name. It was to emphasize his point. She had a little frown though. “Since I chopped down the tree?”

“Did you not realize it? No one ever challenged mom, she was angry, but I could see her eyes, she liked you from that moment, she accepted the challenge, she liked the way you made her feel, it has never changed since that day. After everything you two went through, you owe her more than this Emma.”

He got up and walked away. He did not need his mother to reply or voice hundreds of reasons why they could not be together. He already knew the reason. It was extremely tough for her to accept that Regina indeed appropriately loved her. As if, she did not deserve this love.

 

Henry had a long talk with Neal over Pizza and root beer. Neal was angry, angry that he did not bring Gina home. For a change, Neal was looking forward to having his entire family together. Henry realized that he missed Gina very much; he also knew that Neal felt responsible for what happened, for losing Gina as he referred to it. Henry spoke to him for a very long time as they shared their meal in Gina’s cabin. Henry shared everything with him, the appeal, Gina getting her licenses for a car and a bike. Her work at Tommy’s. Neal listened, becoming more and more, unhappy by the second.

“Henry, it sounds like she is building a life! A new life, in Boston, not here where she belongs, with her family!”

Henry expected the outburst, eventually. “Neal,” he spoke softly. “This is the first time in a very long time that Gina has settled, that she has a place that she sometimes calls home. I have already told her about this cabin, that it is here, waiting for her, that it is hers. She knows her family is here, even if only you and I remember, but…” There was always a but. “She still believes that you are not real.” He had long since told Neal about the mental institution and what they did to her. That her association with Neal was painful, and therefore it was so much easier just to keep on believing what they told her, Neal was in her imagination.

Henry found it strange and somewhat frustrating that Gina was so ready to accept the realism of magic, but this one important thing, she pushed so far back in her mind, that she could not take it. “How long?” Henry shook his head.

“I do not know my friend.”

 

Emma thought carefully about what Henry said. She knew it was all true. Emma remembered Regina’s eyes that day. They were threatening each other, but the look, oh she recognized that look. As if, Regina was devouring her with her eyes. There was that moment when she offered to rescue Henry when he and Archie landed up stuck in the mine. Regina came to her so determined, and there was a moment, just a moment when she thought Regina was going to kiss her, or at least hug her. Oh, and the fistfight over Graham. She knew Graham was a distraction for both of them; yes, they both cared for him, but was the fight really about Graham that walked away, or was it because she left? The more she thought about it, the more examples she could think of. When she saved Regina from the fire when Regina stopped her from killing Lilly, they always supported each other. It was times like that that there was no Robin, and no Killian, only them, always there for each other. She remembered when they called a truce and together started to take care of Henry. They had been a family since then. Going to parent-teacher night together, having meals together.

Emma wiped her tears. It was not just the love they shared; it was everything else. Regina had been her friend and her family for years now. And she fucked it all up because she was scared of more. Emma already knew she was fully committed to the woman in every other way, why was she so scared of walking this one last path with her? She wiped her tears again. Emma knew the answer. She did not feel that she deserved someone like Regina. Emma recalled the time Regina told her that she was too good for Killian. That she could accept, what she could not accept was that she was worthy enough for a woman like Regina.

 

Regina was in her own world. She looked around the table in the Nolan house. When did they become her family? She knew that she and Mary Margaret did not get along for a long time, that they had hurt each other in ways people should not hurt other people; yet, here she was, feeling at home, contributing to the meal, smiling happily at her other family. Everyone was there, so when a knock came to the door, Mary Margaret looked at David. He shrugged his shoulders and Regina offered to see who it was. She opened the door and inhaled. Their eyes met, and Regina felt a fresh flood of sadness and joy enveloping her. Emma held out a dish of baked something. “Dessert.” Regina took it and had a look.

“Is this eatable Miss Swan?” She gave Regina a shy smile.

“I followed a recipe.” Regina gave her a look, and Emma felt the warmth of it filling her heart.

 

While they were in the doorway talking, Mary Margaret quickly set a place for Emma next to Regina. They were all relieved that the two women were at least talking.

“Hi!” Emma greeted all of them. “I hope it is alright if I join you?” She looked at Mary Margaret, who just gave her, her sweet smile and an _of course_. Henry was smiling; at least she was still listening to someone. They shared a great meal and good conversation. It was not only Regina that Emma avoided, it was Mary Margaret as well, actually because she knew what the little brunette would tell her. It felt good to have her there and to share the day with them. After the meal, they all helped Mary Margaret to clean up and then they all sat down again to eat dessert. To every once surprise, Regina’s most of all, Emma’s baked dessert was skew, but delicious.

When she had a moment, she called Regina to one side. Everyone noticed, but left the two to talk. It has been long enough that they didn’t. Emma gave her a small box. Regina stared at it for a moment before she opened it. It was a necklace, similar to the one Emma always had on.

 

A slide pendant, ring, necklace, instead of being blank like Emma’s, it had an apple tree in it, with one branch clearly missing. It was her apple tree, their tree. The start of everything. She held it in her hand, and her lip was quivering. Emma asked if she could put it around her neck and Regina nodded. She pulled her hair up, and Emma clasped the white gold pendant around her neck. The apple tree came to rest on her heart, and Regina touched it. Regina wanted to ask Emma what it was for, but she was too emotional to trust her voice. Emma placed her hand softly over Regina’s, where she was holding the pendant. “This was where it started; I would like to see how our story ends, I just need a little time please Gina?”

Regina wanted to cry; she also wanted to scream at Emma in frustration. She took Emma’s hand in her own. The gift was beautiful, and because it had so much meaning, it made it unique and instantly treasured. “Don’t take too long Miss Swan.” She whispered as she walked away before the tears started again.

 

**Boston**

 

Gina had an entirely different affair. It felt like an St. Patrick’s Day celebration. There was food, but there were Irish whiskey and Guinness mostly. Tommy and his family invited her. Mick was there as well as half the Irish mob. Eoin was the host at O’Malley’s.  Someone else was there that made Gina smile from ear to ear. Sahara. The woman that looked after her in jail. She gave her a big warm hug, thanked her and asked her when her release was. During the entire day, Gina thought how strange it was that these people, most of whose surnames she did not even know, for today, her family. She spoke to Eoin for a while. He told her in no uncertain terms that after her job with Tommy was done; he did not want to see her again. His words stung.

“Look, Ginny, I know more about you than you think. Cooper and I have been friends for a long time. I know what happened to you, before the joint, in the joint and now afterwards. I know you have been stealing anything you could get your hands on, to support your foster families. I also know that you nearly died in two of them and in prison. God has a plan for you kid, and it is not here in Southee or Boston.” He took her hand. “Besides, with all the shit you have been through in your little life, your grades have always been good. You can get out of here Ginny, go to college, University, and make something of your life. But if you stay here… Next time Ginny you might not be so lucky to survive another beating”.  _Fortunate to survive a beating_? She thought about all three occasions. She landed up in the hospital each time. She was surprised to find out how much he knew about her life.

 

“Mr. Cavan, this is all I know.” He held her hand a bit tighter.

“There is more Ginny, so much more. I was born into this family, I did not have a choice, and you do kid. You have money, brains, and skills. You can settle anywhere.” He leaned back in his seat. “If I give you an address, will you go there?” She looked at him. “I have a straight-up girl that is the Sheriff of the town, called me about your case in fact. You remind me a lot of her. If you leave, go there, please?” He slipped her a piece of paper and got up. Gina place the paper in her pocket without looking at the name or address. Few people had ever helped her, and she understood what Eoin said. It was not a request.

 

The rest of the weekend Gina spent extending her pallet. As a kid she could only look at certain food, she never knew what any of them tasted like. In prison, your diet was very bland. Her Thanksgiving meal there the year before was overcooked pork chops with oily cold chips. For the inmates, it was an infrequent treat. Tonight, however, she had ordered in, different coffees, because she did not know what an extra skinny latte with foam was. On the other hand, the difference between an Americano and Mocha Java, so she ordered several. She got a tub of the rocky road because she heard of it. She ordered a medium rare steak, just to know what it would taste like. If she ever had steak, like all the meat she ever ate, it came either burned or overcooked. She threw herself a little party while watching one of several DVD’s Henry had. She took one sip of the Latté and wondered why it would even be on a menu. She ditched it and drank the Americano. Yeah, she thought. The stake was unlike anything she ever had in her life. She had no idea that meat could be so soft and tasty.

 

Henry was very conservative with her diet after she either threw up or had diarrhea. It seemed that her oats, chicken and more chicken without anything on it made her stomach very sensitive to greasy or spicy food. He slowly increased her diet to regular food after the first few fails. Tonight she was enjoying the luxury. After the steak she had the Mocha Java, she liked it and a little bit of the ice cream, it was an unusual treat. She also managed to get herself a bottle of Jack Daniels. She always wondered what it tasted like and decided it was something she could get used to. Jimmy, the bartender, sold her a few pints of Guinness, and she was enjoying that when the movie ended. She had a good day. Good days with people were rare. Today she did not have to put up and pretenses or fences. She fell asleep, another dreamless night, which was always a blessing.

 

By Christmas time, Gina had put together all four bikes as she promised. Besides knowing her parts, one of her foster fathers taught her how to service a motorcycle and overhaul a bike and car engine. He gave her several books to read about the different bikes, parts and the capacity of engines. With her thirst for knowledge and her ability to learn new things fast, she was helping him restore the machines in no time. She liked that home. His wife was the problem. She got jealous of the time they spent together. Gina was shipped off again. Her next foster home was anything but a home. That was when she started to work for Tommy. She saw an ad in the paper of the Motorcycle mechanic looking for a rare part of a Norton Model 18 1954 490cc Roadster. Tommy needed the back seat to finishing the job. Gina got him one. It needed to be reupholstered, but she got one. Therefore, their relationship started.

 

Now she had finished a Harley Davidson 74” Electra-Glide Panhead, a Harley 1938 61” Knucklehead and a 1970 Harley Davidson Ironhead Sportster. That was the bike most difficult to get parts for. Tommy had only half a bike, and Gina searched high and low for the rest of the motorcycle. He remembered the day she walked into his shop, smelling like something the cat dragged in, but she actually got four parts in a dumpsite that some homeless person told her about.

  
The bikes she built herself, sprayed them in their original colors. All the parts that needed to be chromed were cleaned meticulously. Where she struggled with welding or placing a particular piece together, one of the boys was always willing to help. Tommy knew that the classic beauties would fetch a fortune on an auction. She did a great job.

She started her own one as Tommy had promised her. A Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, the parts were more available, even so, she tweaked it a lot. Including having all the parts that should be chromed, treated with Teflon. The bike was completely black. A few parts covered in black carbon fiber. It was beautiful. The parts Tommy did not have, she scavenged or bought second hand. It was a massive machine, and when Gina got on it with her full leathers, all the boys were standing with their mouths open. She sprayed the Dragon that was on her back, in silver on the petrol tank. It was an impressive combination to see driver and rider together.

 

For the first time since Eoin gave Gina the note, she opened it to see what it said. Emma Swan, Storybrook Main. Take the 95 until you get bypass 1, drive until you come to a fork in the road. To one side lies life, to the other, your destiny. _Go mbeirimíd beo ar an am seo arís_. Eoin.

She said her goodbyes to Tommy, the boys, finally saying goodbye to Mick and picking up her custom-made vests from him. He showed her where and how all the knives fitted and showed her the added protection he added to her heart and stomach area. She thanked him, paid him and pulled on the vest that had the knives, already loaded. It felt good; no one would ever sneak up on her again and walk away uninjured.

 

She left Henry a note. After some nagging, she got a cell phone and a laptop. He wanted to stay in touch no matter where she was. He somehow knew that he would come home one day and she would not be there. The note had her number and Skype address.

“Going to look for my destiny, if you are right, I will see you soon.”

She packed the few belongings and placed most of her clothes in a functional backpack. The rest went into the build in saddlebags on the bike. She had bought herself a proper bike jacket and a full-face helmet, all black. She got an excellent pair of leather ladies biker boots with four-inch heels from Mick’s shop. The boots were extremely expensive but looked great with the tight leathers and mid fit leather jacket she always wore. She placed a scarlet red knitted scarf around her neck and zipped up the big biker jacket to complete her gear for the trip. She had one last look at the flat that was her home for five months, almost the longest she had been anywhere.  
Then she was off.


	12. Part II - Regina.  What is her name Miss Swan?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gina comes to town and causes all sorts of havoc.  
> Warnings: Violence, language, underage kissing

**Chapter 12**

 

The fork in the road. Gina did not push the bike, she was still running it in, but she made the ride in good time none the less. The one-way seemed open, and one looked like a woodland maze. She looked both ways and mumbled to herself, _well Robert if you are wrong_ … The poem came to her clear as day:

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

 

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

 

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference. *

 

Gina had to travel slower. The road, however, open had many sharp bends, and the woodland forest made it impossible to see what might lay ahead. She passed a diner stuck in the middle of nowhere and thought for a moment to stop and ask for directions. One road was as much as another she thought, all roads eventually lead to nowhere, and then you die.

 

Her mind was as dark as her clothes. She wondered if it had something to do with leaving Henry.  He never tried anything with her. He gave her, her space and time to adjust to a normal world again. He took her to his Story Realms to practice her magic, to gain the control she needed so much. He was a gentleman, and for some unbeknown reason, she started to trust him, to the extent that she crawled into his bed one morning after a nightmare. She felt like just sleeping a little more. He stirred as the weight in the bed changed. He looked at her a moment and then opened his arms. She laid her head on his chest and with his arms wrapped around her they fell asleep again. It felt good, and it felt safe. He made no mention of it the next day, and just accepted her in his bed a few nights later.

 

Now Gina was a four-hour-plus ride from Boston with no clear idea of where exactly she was or where this road would end. She rode up a long, steep hill, leaned into a tight right turn and felt something. She stopped the bike and walked the few yards back. She held out her right hand and there it was. A strange tingle, the bracelet came to life, the rune letters glistering in the magic, her real name appearing by itself. She felt the barrier for a long time. It was strong. It was pure white magic. She withdrew her hand and got back on the bike, around the next turn, she passed a board. She was going too fast to read it, but another corner and she saw it. A town.

 

Gina stopped to look at it, the sea and beach, mountains and forests and as far as one could see a relative community. She was here, wherever here was. She had been riding for almost five hours. She was tired and hungry. Gina slowed her speed down to the speed limit and drove towards the mid center of town. She stopped in front of a diner that looked relatively busy, always an indication that the food was excellent. Gina parked the bike and hooked her helmet onto a custom clasp that locked it; she was from Boston after all. She fluffed her helmet hair into place again cleaned up her makeup a bit and walked into the diner.

 

Gina felt the stares and heard the whispers, but ignored them. Small places like this were often not used to strangers. A stunning tall, friendly brunette greeted her with a big smile.

“Wow! Extreme, but wow!” Gina looked at the name tag.

“Thank you, Ruby.” She said in her deep husky voice. At that moment, Granny came out with an order and looked her up and down.

“Gods, those are even tighter than Ruby’s. A bit too late for Halloween don’t you think?” Gina just gave the older woman a frown as she continued with her work. Gina took a seat closest to the door.  
“Can I get you your usual?”  _WFT_? Gina thought.

“No, thank you, I would like a burger with a lime milkshake please?” Ruby stared at her.

“Are you sure?” Gina nodded.

“Okay,” Ruby replied with a roll of her eyes and disappeared into the kitchen. Gina wiped her eyes, she was tired, and that very seldom happened.

“Is there perhaps a place I can stay for the night?” She asked the older woman, and Granny stopped in her tracks.

“Why, did Regina burned yours down?” She could hear the smirk. She looked around the diner, and as she looked, everyone else turned away. Gina took the big riding jacket off and placed it on the stool next to her. She took the comfy leather jacket off, putting it on top.

 

She had the word Dragon tattooed in Chinese writing style on her upper right arm and under it a small, simple dragon tattoo. She had a sliding ring necklace on with a compass in the middle. On her left arm, she had a Gaelic warrior Spirit tattoo, with a protection bind rune under it. On her left shoulder blade, the wing of a black dragon stood out. On her left hand, she had a red and orange Magic fire symbol. When Ruby came back with her shake, she stopped in her tracks and looked at the tattoos. She opened her mouth, to say something when Mary Margaret and David walked in. Mary Margaret stopped dead when she saw her. So much so, that David walked into her. She gave him a look and then returned the look to Gina.

 

“Really?” She asked as she spun the stool Gina was sitting on around. Gina completely tensed up, and her left hand went to the sheath at the nape of her back. Mary Margaret looked at her with a big frown.

“What on earth have you done? Has Regina seen you?” She held up a hand. “Never mind. You have been acting like a child since Thanksgiving! What is wrong with you?” Her voice was getting higher and higher. “She loves you, can’t you get that through your head. A lot of people here love you; you do not need to act out to get attention!” Gina’s one brow was lifting. “Don’t give me that look.” She took Gina by the hands and held it. She felt the woman go stiff but ignored it. “Just give it a chance.” Mary Margaret looked up, and when she looked back at Gina, she said with a big smile. “Love is wonderful and an adventure and so rewarding…”

“And exceedingly overrated.” The husky voice interrupted her. She looked back over her shoulder. “Ruby, may I please have the burger to go?”

Mary Margaret stared at her. “You must give this a chance!” She looked Gina up and down again. “What the hell did you do to yourself anyway?”

Gina took the burger, finished her shake, left a good tip as she pulled the leather jacket on, she answered.

“This is my look. Perhaps if you tried it, your husband would be looking longingly at your ass instead of mine. For future reference give your love advice to someone that actually gives a shit.”

“Emma!” The call came from all four friends. She looked from one to the other. “You certainly have me confused with someone else.” She walked out and had her burger while sitting on her bike. She clipped the bike jacket onto her seat.

 

Inside the diner was a buzz. “Since when does Emma have a tattoo on her back?” Ruby asked first. “Since when does Emma have no manners?” Mary Margaret demanded. David thought to himself, _since when does Emma have such a nice ass_? Granny snorted, “Maybe she is still undercover.” Everyone looked at her. “She was in Wonderside, sorting out the mess between the gangs.” They all seem to relax a bit. That would explain everything.

 

“We should call Regina just in case; we all know how Emma can get if she is angry.” Granny gave good advice, and David immediately called the Mayor. It was after five, but he knew she would still be in her office. He explained the situation and Regina asked him in a very bored tone, “Are you sure, that does not sound like Emma at all, angry or not.”

“She has leathers on!” David replied as if that would explain everything. Regina sighed.

“I will be over as soon as I finish my work. Regina killed the call and continued what she was doing, but David’s words kept her mind somewhere else. Emma wearing leathers? She had to see that! She packed up and load her briefcase into the Mercedes and drove over to Granny’s. Emma was long gone, but the rumor was that she made her way to the Rabbit Hole. Regina walked the short distance there.

Gina saw the pub on her way into town. She was not planning on a drive for a while and thought this to be the place to blow off some of the agitations she felt in the diner. The bartender looked a bit surprised but asked her politely what she wanted. She always ordered a beer.

“Shot glass and leave a bottle of Jack.” He looked at her again but placed the order in front of her.

“Rough week?” She swallowed her first shot.

“Rough year.” She answered. She threw back another.  _Oh, gods, she missed this_. Gina knew that if she got drunk enough, she would sleep better and she could do with some rest, real rest for her Soul.

 

Astrid was away for four days at a seminar, and Leroy took the opportunity to revolt to his old habit and hiding hole. When he saw the _Sheriff_ , and the new look in combination with the some of the beers he had consumed, no will on earth could stop him. He took the stool next to her. “I have to say. You look even more beautiful than usual.” Gina glared at him. “What?”

“You going to arrest me now for compliments?”

“Look, buddy, I am tired and just want to get wasted.” She answered.

“Well, in that case, you have the right company.” Leroy placed his hand on her thigh. She went stiff. Her eyes gave the barkeep a look.

 

“Come on Leroy; she had a terrible day. Let her be and go and sit somewhere else.” Leroy took his hand off her leg and rubbed one of her tattoos.

“This is new.” Gina turned to him, and her natural greenish eyes turned dark.

“If you touch me again, you will lose a hand.” He smiled his dreamy smile,

“Ooh, so you are going to put me in cuffs tonight?” He held out both his hands, and Gina ignored him. “Come on Sheriff, for old times’ sake?” He placed his hand on her leg again. She looked at the barkeeper.

“I have warned him, have I not?” He smiled and nodded before Leroy could think, Gina had his hand in the grip of steel she twisted it and pulled back hard and fast, breaking his wrist and in the same motion pushed him back and he landed on his arse a few feet away. She did it, while still sitting, she turned on her stool and poured another shot and drank it.

“Gods Sheriff, I think you broke my wrist!”

“I did.” She answered, taking another shot. “I suggest you have that looked at.” She turned her head, and some stiff vertebras clicked in, Leroy disappeared.

 

She got up, ready to pay her bill when she heard high heels clicking her way. The step was determined and sophisticated. Gina could tell a hooker from a lady by the way they walked. She took a deep breath, placed her wallet on the counter and poured herself another. Regina stopped a few feet away appreciating the look of the standing woman. 

 _Gods, she did have leathers on, and a haircut_. Her brain did not go further, her eyes focused on the tight muscular ass, in the black leather pants, the brought tanned shoulders she looked incredible! Regina forgot all over again that they were just friends. She made her way over to the leathered woman and sat down without looking at her. It has been weeks since they spoke to each other.

“I’ll have what she is having.” Harvey, the bartender, placed a shot glass in front of the Mayor, and Gina poured her a shot.

Regina lay her thick black coat on the stool next to her. It was only then that the two women looked at each other, to toast, Gina’s eyes went soft. Before her stood the most beautiful, elegant woman, she had ever laid eyes on. It was almost evening, but she looked and smelled as if she just got dressed for the morning. Her hair and makeup were perfect, her full lips a darker shade than her scarlet dress. The Chanel Nr.5 was filling her senses, she sat cross-legged, the perfect lady. The red dress had a bit of a sleeve and buttoned at the top, except that from the button it had an open oval slit that ran all the way to her cleavage, beautiful, sexy and Gina would bet anything, this woman was very dangerous.

 

Gina clinked her glass to the one of this woman’s and drank her shot, Regina did the same. The warm liquid burned its way down, and she felt a little shiver, it was not what she and Emma usually drank. The soft green eyes did not stray for a moment, Regina could see the appreciation of her beauty and desire in them. Her voice was low and husky when she talked.

“It’s been a while.” Gina turned her head a bit. She definitely was being mistaken for someone else, but with this woman, it seemed right to play the game.

“Too much time.” She poured them each another shot.

 

It stayed on the counter this time, Gina’s eyes roaming, taking in all of this woman’s beauty. She looked at her intensely. Her flawless skin, her chest heaving a bit, the movement of her breasts that fitted tightly into the tailored dress.  _Gods, she was a vision_. Her skin looked soft under the light stockings, and she wore a pair of come fuck me heels. Gina imagined undressing this woman slowly, exploring every part of the dark olive skin, she wanted desperately to touch her.

 

“May I?” Her hand lifted, and Regina allowed the soft touch that traced her jaw and then softly held the touch to her cheek. The contact was warm but different. She looked at _Emma_ again and then realizations struck, the look, the odd behavior, but the warmth on her skin ignored what she realized, it felt so good to have this, to see the desire in the unusual green eyes, to be truly appreciated. She leaned into the touch, and the woman’s thumb came free to slide over the perfect mouth, she leaned in; no power on earth could stop her.

 

She placed a delicate, very soft kiss on the appealing mouth. Regina opened her mouth just a bit to encourage more. Gina continued, pulling her softly closer and swallowing her bottom lip into her own warm mouth, her tongue exploring lightly. It was not at all, what she wanted. Her heart was pounding in her chest, to keep control of her emotions. She wanted to consume this mouth, feel all of it and feel this beauty kissing her back with hunger, and Gina could feel this woman’s starvation, of attention, love, and lust. She breathed and pulled her into a bit more there was no resistance. Gina opened her mouth to capture Regina’s completely. A soft moan escaped from within her throat and Gina intensified the kiss, she pulled back, a bit out of breath.

 

“You have a mouth that should be worshipped every moment.” Regina smiled and looked down. The small gesture made Gina’s insides turn. When Regina looked up again, she could see the lust. This time Regina took the initiative, leaned in, and kissed the young woman with the desire that fueled her. Gina held her by the waist and knew if this kiss did not end soon, she was going to rip this woman’s clothes off.

 

Just then, they heard a hard inhale and a soft, upset, “Regina?”

Both women pulled back immediately, and Regina composed so fast that Gina wondered if the kiss was a daydream.

“Emma.” She said in a firm voice. Emma looked at the rival and was shocked, all of a sudden; she understood the chatter around town, which was mostly, that the Sheriff has gone a bit nutty. The hospital called her for an assault on Leroy; he was drunk but kept on insisting that Emma was the one that broke his wrist in the Rabbit Hole. She went to Granny’s to get a grilled cheese only to get a mouth full from Mary Margaret on how disappointed she was and that she expected more from her friend. Emma looked at Ruby for support, and her friend said: “Well, you were acting weird.” The words took her straight to the Rabbit Hole where she found the woman she loved in a passionate kiss with another woman.

The rival leaned back on the counter.

“So you are the infamous Sheriff Emma Swan?” She gave her a small smile, turned and drank the shot that has been standing there for a while. They looked so much alike that Emma wondered if they somehow were related. “And who might you be?”

 

“A better kisser for one.” She said, and Regina did not even try to stop the blush, much to Emma’s annoyance.

“You assaulted a man earlier tonight.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Nooo, I defended myself after several warnings against a man’s unwanted attention.” Emma looked at Harvey who nodded.

“Leroy pushed it.”

 

Emma went for her cuffs; Gina watched her, her eyes darker again.

“So what would be the charge Sheriff? Assault, accosting a beautiful woman or accidentally looking like the Sheriff only with better taste in clothes and a tighter ass?” Emma was fuming,

“For drinking underage.” Gina snorted,

“You can only arrest him for serving me. Besides, he thought I was you, and as for being underage. You might find a slight technicality standing in your way.” Emma was becoming more irritable by the second, the arrogance of the kid reminded her so much of herself when she was young. She unclipped her gun, just in case, Gina watched her, she knew with her ability the Sheriff would be on the floor bleeding before she could even get it out of the holster.

 

She turned her back to the woman, asked Harvey how much she owed him, poured herself another shot and turned to Regina, handing her the other one.

“Until next time.” She smiled, and to Emma’s utter disbelief, Regina downed the shot. She left Harvey his money with a substantial tip, got up and walked past the Sheriff. Regina did the same as she fell into step with Emma.

“What were you thinking?” Emma asked.

Regina answered in her usual Mayor's voice.

“I got a call from Granny that you were acting strangely. I went to see you.”

“And the kissing?” Emma asked angrily.

 

Regina had a smug smile, whoever this woman was, she moved Regina deeply.

“I told you, Miss Swan, I will not wait forever.” She increased her stride and Emma had to run to catch up, Gina had already walked into the Sheriff’s Office and found Thomas and Frederik gaping at her. She gave them an, oh so seductive smile,

“Down boys, the boss is on her way.” She walked straight to one of the cells, hung the leather jacket up. Made herself comfy on the small bed, and the two Officers were still staring when the Sheriff and Mayor walked in.

“Seeing something you like!” Emma growled menacingly behind them. Both men got busy with nothing in particular.

 

“I need to book you.” Gina stayed where she was.

“You need to charge me first, and since the midget won’t lay a charge, all you can do is keep me for the night.”

“Sounds like you are familiar with the Justice System?”

Gina stood up, this time there was no mistake as to the expression on her face.

“There is very little justice in your system Sheriff.” She looked at Emma intensely; they did look very much alike. Before she laid down again, she asked the Sheriff to cover her bike for the night.

 

It was customary for one of the Deputies to stay with a prisoner. This night, however, Emma stayed, keeping a watchful eye on the kid while she seemed to sleep very soundly. It was just after five o’clock when a noise woke Emma. She could not identify it. Grumpy and groggy from the uncomfortable sleep in the jail bed next to Gina, Emma realized that it was her prisoner. Emma walked around to the next cell. Gina was struggling with something, when the murderous screams started, still fast asleep.

 

Emma searched for the keys and opened the lock to wake the girl. The moment Emma touched her. Gina shot up so quickly that Emma had no time to react. The Sheriff was pinned to the wall with a combat knife to her throat. The girl's eyes look different. Emma realized she looked confused by her surroundings. Emma decided to try to talk the kid down, and she was just a kid.  Emma realized as she looked at her in the light. Before she could, Gina dropped the knife and stumbled back onto the bed. She held her head in her hands. Emma could see the tears running down her face.

 

“Sorry, I should have warned you last night, I get bad dreams, and the last thing you should do is wake me.” She looked up. “Otherwise that happens.” She pointed to Emma, still standing against the wall.

Emma ignored the knife and came to kneel before the kid. Her movements were slow in order not to scare her even more. She placed a hand on her knee. She felt the girl go stiff, but there was no other reaction.

“That was not a dream; it was a memory, a bad memory.” Gina wanted to laugh, Henry said the same, his book told the same tale, but the nightmares were too insane to be memories, as for bad… The Sheriff had no fucking idea how terrifying they were.

“I’m sorry; I haven’t had one for a while, so this one was unusually ruthless.”

Emma had a frown and was now lightly rubbing the kid’s leg. She was very different this morning from the night before, the anger and arrogance were missing, she seemed calm, Emma would not go as far as saying vulnerable, but certainly younger. She looked back to the knife.

“I locked you up with a weapon?”

Gina gave a little laugh. “You locked me up with several. Don’t worry Sheriff; I have a permit to carry concealed weapons.”

“What are the dreams about?” Gina had that same hard, intense look again.

“Even if I did trust you enough to tell you, which I don’t, you will not believe me.”

Emma nodded, _yeah_ , she thought, payback is a bitch, not only did they look alike, they had the same defense mechanisms, the same anger and by the gods, the same taste for the same woman.  
The question was now what to do with the kid; Emma picked up the knife and pushed it into the back of her pants. “You a runaway?”

“No.”

“Foster system?”

“No.”

“Prison?”

“No.”

“So where do you fit in or belong Kid?”

“Nowhere.”

 

Emma tried hard to push her personal feelings aside. It sounded so much like her own story.

“How old are you kid?”

“Fifteen.” Came the whisper, Emma’s head nearly exploded, she needed to talk with Regina, urgently! Her superpower also told her that everything the kid said was true.

“Where did you learn to fight?” Gina shrugged her shoulders.

“It just became a necessity.” Emma understood.

“How long have you been on the streets?”

Gina looked at her, “What the fuck is this? Twenty questions on how fucked up the orphan is?” Emma sighed, _no this was not payback_ , this was Karma, and the kid answered and responded precisely the same way she had every time she dealt with any official, Emma raised a brow.

“On and off for nine years.”

Emma tried hard to keep the anger out of her voice. “You have been on your own since you were six?”

“Kinda, sometimes.”

“What happened to you kid?” Gina refused to cry, the tears were there, but she denied them in front of this woman. She did not need sympathy or a mother, she looked at Emma angrily, Emma noticed that the girl’s eyes were green like her own, but when the anger took over, the silver-white specks in her irises flared, and her eyes became very dark green.

 

“I will make you a deal Sheriff; I will answer whatever question you have truthfully, but be very careful as to what you ask. Once you know something, it cannot be unknown, and there is a lot about my life that I wish I could forget. Over and above the parts that I do not remember.”

Emma nodded.

“Where are your other weapons?” She was not too sure if the kid had a gun.

“I carry them in the waistcoat.” She indicated with her head to the leather vest that was hanging on a hook, with her jacket. Emma took the vest and felt through it,

“Seven? And the one you carry in the small of your back?” Gina just shrugged; Emma looked at her, analyzing the truth, her head turned. “What about your boots?” Gina slept in her boots. It was a custom of many runaways. They slept with their shoes and jackets on to prevent it from being stolen, but Emma guessed correctly that Gina did it for an entirely other reason. The kid smiled at her and took out the boot dagger. “Only one?” Gina took off both boots and shook them out, she turned, and Emma could see the empty sheath in the nape of her back clipped to the leather pants.

“Satisfied?”

Emma shook her head and locked the kid in again; all the weapons in her possession, no one carried nine knives without reason. Whatever the child’s story, Emma was confident that it was not a pretty one.

 

She phoned in an ordered for herself and the kid as soon as Granny’s opened. She was waiting to hear from the hospital and Regina. They parted not on the best of terms. The question plagued Emma again.  _Was she jealous? What was stopping her from being the girl in Regina’s arms last night_?

When breakfast arrived, she gave the kid hers and just started talking.

“Why did you kiss Regina?” Gina gave her a look and answered with her mouth full of food.

“Have you seen her, have you look at her? Gods damn, that woman is not only beautiful but graceful, feminine, with all the right curves in the right places, there is something dangerous about her and yet, something vulnerable.”

Emma frowned. “How long did you two talk?”

Gina smirked, “We didn’t.” I offered her a drink, we kissed, and you walked in." The kid answered nonchalantly. "Sheriff, if that is your woman, then I am truly sorry I made a pass, if she is not, then I will have her in my bed very soon.”

“You are fifteen!”

“So, you think that fifteen-year-old girls do not desire older women? Especially a woman like that!”

“No, I am thinking Statutory Rape!”

 

Something fluttered in Gina’s eyes. Emma saw it, but she could not say if it were fear, anger or something deeper.

“She is quite safe from that, I promise you.”

“So that was it, drinks, kiss…?”

Gina looked at her, “Sheriff if you love this woman, why are you not with her?” And there was the question, did she tell this complete stranger her secret?

“I don’t think I am good enough for her.” Gina raised an eyebrow.

“No offense Sheriff, but when it comes to broken, fucked up lives, I will walk away with the price, hands down.”

“Don’t be too sure,” Emma said as Gina started to drink her coffee. She took one sip.

“Christ all mighty! What the hell is this?”

“It’s cocoa.”

“Gods damn Sheriff it is worse than a skinny latté, and I would not even give that to my dog. She held the cup through the bars, and Emma took it.

“More for me.”

“Knock yourself out.” She went to lay on the bed with her eyes closed again, and Emma wondered why she seems so at peace and comfortable.

“Did you come out of prison recently?”

“You are perceptive. I have to give you that, you might know shit about women, but you see things. Nah, it’s been a few months.” She thought about Regina again. “Your woman is strong, but she wants to be needed. She wants someone to take care of her. However, the gods forbid that she ever comes across as needy. It is not just about desire Sheriff. She wants to be wanted, desired. She needs to know how gorgeous a woman she is. I would guess that if anyone gives her what she craves, the sex will be mind-blowing.”

 

“Glad to know someone noticed?” Regina wondered how the girl could be so perceptive. When Emma, seemed so utterly blind after all these years. Gina sat up as the soft, husky voice filled the air. If it was remotely possible, she looked even better than the night before. It was cold, so she had black pants on, with knee-high boots, a thick black coat, and a red scarf. Her eyes were piercing, her lips full. A strand of hair hanging just over one eye, most likely from the wind blowing it astray. Gina swallowed, the dark beauty ignored the Sheriff and came to the cell, she took her gloves off and looked deep into Gina’s eyes. Gina could hardly breathe.

“Morning.” The husky voice filled the cell. Her voice was very different from Gina’s, both husky, but Gina spoke softly, if she didn’t there was a scratch in her voice. She had it some mornings if the dreams were disturbing.

 

“I do not believe I properly introduced myself yesterday? Mayor of Storybrook, Regina Mills.” Her hand came through the bars to shake Gina’s hand, but as soon as she heard the woman’s name, she retreated to the back of the cell.

Emma jumped up at the sudden move as to protect Regina, but Gina was ash pale and sitting in the corner,

“Are you, alright Kid?” Emma asked. She replied with utter fear in her eyes,

“He is going to kill me! Goddamn, why did I not realize it sooner, Emma Swan, Emma Swan, and Regina Mills? He is going to kill me; I am fucking dead.”

“Who is going to kill you?” Both asked. Gina looked at them as if they were stupid and not listening. She didn’t answer. “Kid if…” Emma started.

 

Gina leaped up. “I’m sorry, I am so sorry for interfering with your family.” She was looking at the Mayor. She turned to Emma. “I swear I will not touch her again, ever!”

Both women looked at her. “Who are you so scared of?”

“What!” Gina bellowed out. “If he knows I made out with you, he will kill me!”

“It is all right.” Regina looked at Emma. Emma looked back. Regina rolled her eyes in frustration. “What is her name Miss Swan?” Emma thought for a moment.

“I don’t know I did not book her.” Regina looked at her with her irritated Mayor stare.

“I suppose Miss Swan, that you have been calling her Kid all this time?” Emma at least had the decency to blush.

Just then, the office phone rang, Emma went to answer. It was the hospital. Leroy insisted that he was all right and discharged with a fractured wrist and despite Thomas taking his statement and that of others, telling him, that he had a case, Leroy refused to press charges. Emma hanged up after the feedback.

“Seems you are free to go.”

“Great, I need to get out of here.”

 

Emma opened up the cell, and Gina took her jackets and boots.

“Where are my knives?” Emma unlocked the drawer, took out all nine knives, and Gina placed them into the vest one by one.

“Why would you need nine knives?” Gina looked up.

“It is a dangerous world, Miss Mills.”

She got ready to go, Regina held onto her arm, Gina could feel the heat. “What is your name?” Gina looked at her intensely.

“It doesn’t matter now does it, Miss Mills?”

 

Gina walked the block or so to Granny’s and ordered a burger and one to go. She had no idea where to go from here; she only knew she could not stay. Ruby gave her, her order and Gina started to dig into her burger, she was almost finished with the burger when Mary Margaret and David walked in. The story has reached most of the town, and Gina turned to them.

“I have to apologize for my behavior yesterday ma’am, and I do not normally have someone who scolds me.” Mary Margaret gave her one of those smiles and came forward to hug her.

“It is quite alright. It was just a miss understanding.” Gina looked over her shoulder and saw the boy behind David. Her body went completely stiff. She started to shake. Several flashes of memories assaulted her at once; she did not hear Mary Margaret asking if she was all right.

Gina didn’t feel David picking her up when she stumbled. She was pale. Mary Margaret yelled to Granny to call Emma and an ambulance.

Her eyes only stayed with the boy who was slowly walking backwards. The flashes slowed down. Tears were streaming down her face.

“Where the fuck were you!” She yelled at Neal, who now exited Granny’s door. David grabbed her to protect his son, but without so much as a look at him, she dislodged his grip and sent him flying into a table.

 

They were both outside on the street. Neal kept a safe distance from Gina. He knew her, she grew up, her hair was another color, her voice was different, but her eyes had not changed one bit. What he was seeing in them, terrified him.

“Gina, I waited, but this realm is different. Time is different. I waited, I swear, but after a month, Social Services picked me up. I ran away, and I waited again. Please, Gina, you need to believe me!”

 

Gina looked at him, almost as if she was looking through him, not at him. The moment she saw him, the memories came back; she remembered asking him to give her six months in order to understand her power. It was in those six months that Gina molded the bracelet with the Prometheus fire. Transforming the one thing that could kill her. She remembered casting the rest of Excalibur into the granite, sealing it so that no one might ever pull the sword again. She cast the Souls of every Dark One into Excalibur, except for two. She remembered using her magic to wipe her mind until she would be safe with Neal again. Then she used the bean that her mother gave her to come to the realm of no magic, where Neal would be. She waited for him by the Paul Revere statue, as they agreed, she remained there for weeks, until someone picked her up, took her to the police station, where the child was handed over to Social Services, and within a month she found herself in an insane asylum. Being drugged and abused, undergoing shock treatment, only to forget the boy standing before her now.

 

“Do you know what happened to me! What they did to me!” Neal was shaking his head, not even Henry told him about Gina’s first year in the non-magic Realm, and Neal carried enough guilt. The adults have all gathered outside, watching them, ready to intervene at any moment, Emma and Regina also arrived, Emma unclipped her pistol from its holster, as did David.

 

“You had one fucking job Neal, one! I have been in Boston all this time, where the fuck have you been?”

“I was ten!”

"And I was six!” Her eyes flashed silver, he knew what it meant, and he reached for his back.

“Don’t! I am fucking warning you Neal. Don’t!” Her voice was sturdy, and everyone could hear the warning, he thought about it for a moment, but he had never been this scared in his life, he pulled two combat knives from his back and swung it towards his wrists.

Gina just shook her head, but several of the grownups reacted, Mary Margaret yelled at Neal, Emma drew her gun and focused it on Gina that until this point had done nothing. David walked over to his son and held out his hand to give him the knives, and Gina smiled at his stupidity.

 

Their training was to never give up your weapons, never to surrender, always stay true to the Kingdom. “This is not your fight dad.” He said as he jumped in the air and gave David a hard side kick to the side of his head that took him by surprise, knocking him unconscious.

Emma changed her focus on Neal now, “Neal, put down the weapons!” He heard her warning, but his eyes were focused on Gina, and he knew he was dead. The ambulance, Thomas, and Frederik arrived at the same time.

“Where do you need us Chief?” They yelled to Emma.

“Go around. Just try to keep them calm. The two Officers who met Gina the night before thought that she looked very relaxed. It was the Nolan boy who was heaving and already in a fighting position.

 

Gina watched him, her eyes also picked up the positions of everyone around her, she could see that Emma was indecisive as to whom was the bigger threat. Neal acted first. He charged Gina and as she perfectly dodged his swiping attacks, she wondered to herself if he had forgotten all of his training, it certainly seemed that way. He carelessly swiped at Gina again, and she grabbed his arm, banged his hand hard against her lifted knee and when the pain shot through his arm, he dropped the knife, he came up to punch her, only then did she move. She gave him a full-on house kick right in the chest. He fell back, trying to catch his breath. Gina bent to pick up his knife; Emma’s attention was now back on her.

 

“Don’t you even think about it?” Emma said.  Gina threw the knife towards Neal where he sat crunched over, everyone gasped. Mary Margaret wanted to run over to him, but Regina stopped her. “Whatever this is, it is not over. Let the Sheriff deal with it.

Neal got up, grabbed both knives again and took on a defensive position.  _That is more like it_. Gina thought as she dropped her jacket and pulled the twin Tantos from her undercoat vest. The blades were slightly longer than a combat knife, but they were real Japanese knives, they were sharp as hell.

They circled each other. Gina had no intention to make the first strike; she knew Neal was scared, that he had all reason to be. As they turned, Gina’s back was now towards Thomas and Frederik. The two Officers decided to be the heroes. Gina saw them move in her peripheral vision. The moment they were ready to bring her down, she jumped up and gave one a side house round kick, and as soon as she landed, she moved so fast and gave the other a head thrust kick right on the chin, both men went down, both in a lot of pain and dizziness. The rest of the adults decide not to intervene, so far, no one was hurt, and whatever the issue the kids had, they would sort it between them.

 

Emma watched Gina in fascination; she seemed to have a lot of strength and technique but tried to contain herself, as if she did not want to hurt someone. Emma could see that she held back a little every time. Gina was feeling her resolve, grow weaker with each attack. She could feel the darkness pushing its way through. It was like a hunger that received a little taste and now wanted to consume everything in its path. Emma watched her after taking the Officers down; she breathed deep, focused and turned her attention back to Neal. He was the one that struck first again. Gina took to the challenge this time, she defended. Neal fought differently this time. He was focused, not over-committing, pulling out of an attack if Gina got too close. If the situation was not so serious, Emma might have enjoyed the skill. They both showed far more proficiency in hand-to-hand combat than even she did. Not to even speak of the rest of her department, which was why three of them were laying on the ground.

They seemed to move in sync, with each other, as if they knew where the next attack would come from, how the other one was thinking. What each one’s weakness and strengths were, Neal stayed as far away from any right side attack that Gina could dish out. He was still the aggressor, he kicked, but Gina moved out of the way, he got in close enough however to slit Gina’s bicep open. Gina continued to defend as if nothing happened. Mary Margaret and Regina clung to each other. Mary Margaret did not know if she should be horrified because her son was fighting or relieved that he seemed to have the upper hand now, all Regina could see, was a young girl, fighting for her life.

 

It seemed Emma was the only one noticing what Gina was doing all along.

Neal attacked again, and at this, Gina decided it was time to end it. He was not learning, he never did and he never will. Regina watched the girl change before her. Gina let the darkness take over. Every time Neal came near her, she kicked him. Every time she waited, allowed him to get up. He would circle her, looking for his opportunity and strike, the result again, he would land on his ass. He swung himself up sideways, and a little too late Gina realized she was too close to him. He stabbed her in the right leg.

 

With the knife still pinned to the hilt in her thigh, she knocked him so hard against the temple with the other knee, that Neal fell back, dizzy and with a shocking headache. Gina pulled the knife out of her leg and moved to him with purpose, he got up, this time he was on the defense, and his mind could not comprehend how Gina was still able to move so fast with all the injuries he knew he inflicted. He gave a forward swipe with the knife out of the back of his hand, and he struck a deep cut into Gina’s left side. She kept on coming. She hit him on the nose, and everyone could hear it break, he stumbled backwards; she bent onto her right knee and punched him so hard in the ribs, that he lost his breath.

He was down, and Emma knew if he stayed down, he was dead, she moved as fast as she could, but Gina was faster. She kicked him with the three-inch heel of her boot, right below his breastbone. Making sure that his gasps for air would keep him down, Gina kicked his other knife out of reach and bent down over him, placing most of her weight on her uninjured leg. She crossed the Tantos over his throat. Gina let them lay there because they were so sharp every swallow, every breath Neal took, the knives left a litter mark. He looked into her eyes and saw what no one would understand.

“I’m so sorry Gina, I promise, I did look for you.”

Gina’s eyes were dark with silver specks. Neal knew it was the Dark One that was holding his life. He recognized there was no way to get through to his Gina, she pressed a little deeper into his throat, and the blood started trailing down. Emma saw it; she saw that Gina was applying very little pressure, all she had to do was press down and both of Neal’s jugular veins, severing them instantly. He would be dead before anyone would be able to get to him. Emma moved closer, and she was sure that Gina not only saw her but that she was sure of her intentions.

 

“Gina," she said softly. "Put the knives down.” What Emma did not realize was the tremendous battle going on within the girl, everything inside of her wanted to push down, to feel the warm blood spill over her hands, to kill again. She could feel it, wanted it, she craved for the darkness to take over.

 

“Gina, I will shoot you if you don’t let him go.” The beast had a new target, she did not let go of Neal or her knives, but she swung her head towards Emma so fast Emma did not have a chance to blink.

“Do you think I care?” She roared out in immense anger as she looked at Emma. The intensity, violence, and anger that came through made Emma take a step back, it was enough, just enough time for Gina to start breathing again. She closed her eyes, pushing the beast back. The tears fell over her cheeks. It has been some time since she had lost so much control. She placed the knives back in their place in her vest and pulled Neal up. He looked at her. He saw the Dark One was gone. He threw his arms around her and cried into her neck. His mother completely astounded, Gina’s arms just lying limply by her sides.

“I missed you, Gina; I have missed you so much!”

She pushed him away towards his mother.

“You should have him checked out.” Regina and Emma observed the teen. Everything happened so fast, the fight and now this come-down, all the fight, and anger seemed to have left her body. She picked up her jacket and walked to the Sheriff’s Office. Emma and Regina wanted to follow, but Emma needed to check on her Deputy and Officers that were in various stages of recovery. Regina was organizing the medical staff, directing them to the most injured.

In the station, Gina took off her vest and unclipped the combat knife; she took the dagger out of her boot and placed all of them on one of the desks. She made her way to the cell she occupied, what an hour ago? She thought. She had no idea. All she knew was that the beast was still prowling and she had to get the Dark One under control soon. She remembered the man she had seen the first time Henry took her to a Story Realm. It was Merlin, she concentrated on him, and what he taught her about her magic about the flow, the energy she needed to transfer it. Gina closed her eyes where her head was leaning back against the wall. She felt pain all over her body, but she did not look, she just concentrated on the dark energy within her, slowly transforming the black swirls into a lighter color, she kept on doing that until it was almost as silver as the rest of her magic. Then and only then could she start to focus on the pain.

 

Regina and Emma walked into the Sheriff’s office at the same time. Emma saw the knives and the open cell door and made her way there. She took one look at Gina before she ran out and called a medic. Regina was shaking, she had never seen so much blood before, and she had no idea if Gina was still alive. She walked over to the girl, and as she came to her, she kneeled down. “Gina?” She whispered softly. Gina opened her eyes to Regina’s relief and then closed them again. Regina took the young girl into her arms and let her lean her head against her chest. She folded her arms around the bundle. Oblivious to the blood that was seeping through her pants and shirt.

 

Emma found them like that, Regina held onto the girl, blood on both of them now. No one thought to look at Gina because she walked away from the fight, and the black leathers showed no sign of the amount of blood.

“Is she?” Regina nodded with tears in her eyes. The Medics came in; when they lifted her shirt, they saw where most of the blood was coming from. They also saw the tear in her pants and cut it, open it was a deep wound in her thigh. They worked quickly, Regina still holding her, they stopped the bleeding as much as they could, got her on oxygen and placed an IV in her arm. “Anyone knows her blood type?” Both women shook their heads. The medic called it.  
“Teenage female with various lacerations, contusions and from the looks of it broken ribs. She has lost a lot of blood, have two units on standby, blood type unknown.”

 

They lifted her onto the gurney and Regina went after them.

“Regina, ride with me?” She did not put up any resistance, Emma followed the ambulance; both vehicles had their sirens and lights on. When they arrived, they took Gina to the ER and Regina, and Emma joined Mary Margaret and David outside.

Then they heard it, “For fuck sakes, just call Henry!” It was Neal’s voice. The next moment his voice was near hysterical. “No, no don’t do that, don’t do that to her!” He yelled, whatever they did to Gina, they also did very soon to Neal. Emma went into Sheriff mode.

“Do either of you know this Gina?” Both David and Mary Margaret shook their heads.

“Perhaps she is a WhatsApp or Skype friend?

Again no. The Sheriff turned to Regina. “And you have not seen her before yesterday in the Rabbit hole?”

“No.”

“And what were they fighting about this morning?” David shook his head.

 “I don’t know. He backed out of Granny’s and the next moment she yelled at him. She asked him where he had been.”

“That’s it? That is all that happened before I arrived?” David nodded.

“Who started it?”

“Gina started the yelling, but Neal pulled his knives first.” He hung his head, what kind of dad was he; if he did not even know, his son was carrying weapons with him?

“Well, I can tell you three things. One, they know each other, and they know each other well. Two, they were trained by the same person and three; Neal is only alive because this Gina let him. She had at least five opportunities to kill him. At first, I thought she missed them because they were fighting so fast, then I realized, she was not attacking she defended. It was only her last three moves that were offensive. She could have pulled that at any time.” She started to walk away. “I need to find out who this kid is. Keep me posted on their conditions.”

 

Emma went to the bike. First, she took the backpack off, clipped the locks on the saddlebags with a bolt cutter, and took them off. Emma took the content out; there were fewer things than what Emma expected from a fifteen-year-old. For instance, her phone packed away in one of the saddlebags. She did not know of any fifteen-year-old girl that was not on her phone every five seconds. There was a laptop as well. She tried the phone first. She hooked it up to her laptop and ran some software to break the passcode, only to find that there was none.

“Really? Did this kid grow up in the nineties?” She scrolled through the phone; there were only three numbers, Shining, Tommy, and Jack. Emma got a sick feeling in her gut. She called Shining since he left her several messages.

 

“Where the fuck are you, nice one Gina, I come home, and you are gone, again!” Emma felt like her heart had stopped.

“Henry?” There was silence for a moment.

“Yes, mom, where is Gina, did she get herself in trouble already…” His voice trailed off. “Oh gods, oh gods mom, please tell me she is not in Storybrook, and she did not run into Neal?” She heard the desperation and the plea in his voice.

“Henry she is in Storybrook, and yes, she ran into Neal this morning.” Henry was quiet for a while before he asked, his voice very strained,

“Is Neal still alive?” So, her son knows this girl and how she fights Emma thought,

“Yes, she got it worse off because she was defending all the time.” Then she thought about something far more important,

“Henry, what is her blood type?”

“O Positive.” He replied without thought.

“I will call you back.” She killed the call, called the hospital and told them the girl’s name was Gina, and her blood type was O Positive.

 

She called Henry back from her phone this time, “Hey, you need to tell me everything you know about this girl. Why she and Neal got into a screaming match, where they both learned to fight like that, even the smallest thing might help.” Henry gave a big sigh.

“Mom, she is the girl.”

“The girl who?” Then she understood, she was the girl Neal lost, the one he was looking for, since he was ten, the girl Henry started to help to find, the girl that was in prison, the girl they build the boat shed for. “Mom, are you alright?”

“Yeah, what is her surname Henry?”

“Snow, but I will email you all the things you will need, Social Security, medical insurance, her Emancipation of a minor…”

“Her what!!!” Emma yelled. “She is fifteen!”

 

Henry had to pull the phone away from his ear in case he busted an eardrum. “I will call you later, and young man, you better come up with the answers I am looking for.”

She called an old friend at the BPD, he was doing a desk job now, but he knew all the gossip. “Hey Charlie, it's…”

“Oh my god, the hot bounty hunter from 5th. Gods Swan, how are you?”

“I’m good Charlie, how is the desk job?”

“Terrible, but my wife seems to love it.” Emma laughed.

“Charlie I need to know about a case.” He sighed,

“Always to the point hey Swan? What is the case number?” She heard him starting to type.

“I don’t know. Do you have anything on Gina Snow?”

 

Charlie looked around to see if he was alone and when he got back on the phone, he spoke in whispers to Emma.

“Bad case Swan, actually corrupt. Got Joel fired, without a pension. IA tore him apart. Commissioner and DA are still trying to save their careers. Rumor has it that the Governor paid Cooper an enormous amount of money, just to get the girl out of Boston. Every one fucked up and let that poor girl fend for herself. Heard that she was shanked severely and raped in there. No one wants to know about the case, so if you are anywhere near her, Cooper is her lawyer, and for some strange reason Eoin Cavan took her under his wing. She is now untouchable, more than she had ever been. So stay away.”

 

She thanked him and killed the call. Henry’s email came through, and she printed it, with some new information, she went back to the hospital. She gave the official papers to Regina that read through them and gave Emma a  _What!!!_. “My sentiments exactly Madam Mayor.”

They were still talking about it when Henry called again.

“Mom, I forgot, I can’t believe I forgot. Don’t give her anything, no painkillers, no calming tablets, no sedatives, no anti-depressants. Let them look up her medical insurance it is all listed there.”

“I think it is, a little late for that. They had to sedate her. She is now in surgery with anesthesia. “Oh gods!” Henry swore. “Mom, when she wakes up from all of that, she is going to be very agitated and very scared. She will lash out at everything and everybody, and please don’t cuff her to the bed or constrain her. The last time that happened, she broke both her thumbs to get out of the restraints and then there was chaos. I hope she made a friend because that is the only person that needs to be next to her when she wakes up. And mom, none of this is her fault, it is because of what was done to her, she is scared to go to sleep. When she is sedated, she does not wake up at all, and her nightmares run over and over in her mind. Mom, her heart rate, and brain function will spike every time she dreams. The cycle will perpetuate itself until the drugs are out of her system, and just before she wakes up, she will start screaming, actually screaming.”

 

“What will calm her down?” Emma was now concerned.

“Irish whiskey, or Jack Daniels, it helps her sleep more soundly.”

Emma took what her son told her gravely, what had happened to this girl? She immediately took the copy of the medical insurance to the nurse, asking her to run it. Her eyes went big.

“Show me?” Emma insisted

“Sheriff I really can’t...“

“She is in my custody. You will show me!” Emma walked around to the nurse’s station. Regina watched her, and as the first tear fell, Regina was there.

“Emma?” She looked up into Regina’s eyes and remembered the day before what Gina had warned her about, now she understood. _Once you know something, it cannot be unknown_. She could not let Regina see this file; she wiped her tears and closed it on the computer. She came around to Regina and looked her in the eyes.

“She has had a tough life, Gina. Mine does not even come close to it.” Regina nodded, and they held on to each other, it felt so good to have Regina in her arms; they stood like that for a very long time, before Regina returned to join the Nolan’s.

 

Neal’s doctor, doctor Whale, came out first. “He has a bit of a concussion, few contusions, broken nose and several cracked ribs, the hit to his breastbone is also just a contusion. As for the cuts on his throat, most places they are superficial, he got one or two stitches on both sides. Other than that, we will keep him overnight; you can come and get him by midday tomorrow.” Impersonal and to the point, just like the man.

“Can we see him now?” Mary Margaret asked.

“Of course, but he is heavily sedated.”

Mary Margaret rushed to the recovery room. He had dark purple marks under his eyes and plaster over his nose. She looked him over, as if Whale did not do his job, both Mary Margaret and David just sat with him.

“Do you think what Emma said was true?” From where she was watching, it seemed that Neal took kicks and hits like a rag doll eventually. She felt relieved when he had cut her arm open. But even that did not stop her, neither did the stab wound in her leg, Mary Margaret did not realize that the wound was so deep, but Gina got up and kicked her son with her right leg as if nothing has happened.

 

Regina was sitting alone. Emma was busy making dozens of calls, some to find out more about Gina, some about the gangs in Wonderside and Untold Cove. She knew she had to get over there to restore the peace. In the meantime, Regina waited. She did not need to read a report or make a phone call to know who or what Gina Snow was. The young woman was exactly like her! She saw the young girl’s battle between her darkness and her light. She had seen it in her eyes, oh how easy it would be to give into the beast and end it all. Regina wiped away a stray tear, it was a terrible burden for someone so young to have such darkness, and Gina had it in spades.

 

Regina saw her walk away, feeling no pain, sitting in the cell; she was trying to bring the volatility under control. Regina understood that she has been fighting her very nature when she decided to give up her darkness. It was the most difficult path she ever took. It was far easier to give into the darkness than it was to accept the light. Even now, not often anymore, but on a bad day, that blackness wanted to consume. What she saw in Gina was something very different from her own darkness. It was strong, and she wondered how someone so young not only had it but also how she managed to could control it so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Robert Frost, The road not taken, spelling and punctuation is the poets


	13. You are not going anywhere, young lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A part of Gina's past is revealed and no one is prepared for it.

**Chapter 13**

 

Doctor Frost came out, she looked around the waiting area, only Regina was there, she stood up and walked to Elsa.

“I’m here for Gina Snow.” Elsa nodded and took off her mask and surgery hat. She held Regina’s hand.

“Your young friend has lost a lot of blood, if Emma did not call in with her blood type when the Sheriff did, I don’t know what would have happened, and the laceration on her side was far deeper than expected. We repaired the bicep; it will be a while before she would have full use of it again. Her thigh is another matter. Not only did the muscles took some damage, but the knife also nipped her Iliotibial band, because she continued to use it, some of the other tenants’ snapped, including one for her knee. She is not going to walk for a while.”

Elsa wiped the tears from Regina’s face; it was when she retook Regina's hand that she noticed she was full of blood. She was not too sure as to the bond with this girl, she heard rumors when Leroy was in for his broken wrist, but Elsa knew that Regina likely thought it was Emma. They did look very much alike; the Doctor could see that, even with the bruises on the young face.

 

“Regina, there are other things.” Regina cleared her throat,

“Yes, Emma read her file, she told me.” Regina did not think the lie would do any harm.

“Well, we took x-rays to see the extent of the damage. She had several healed fractures on her ribs and both arms. We counted five stab wounds before today, and she has had every single one of her fingers broken, she has a bad scar on her back, which most likely came from a beating with a belt that was infected and never treated, and therefore the scarring is so bad. She has quite a few cigarette burns on her feet and some under her arms where no one would see them, and then, of course, there is the rape.” Regina was trying everything possible not to give away how affected she was, at that moment. This information was not what she expected when she told a lie. “Her uterus was removed. That usually indicates a very severe rape, there is just too much bleeding, so doctors often have no other choice.”

Regina shook her head that she understood while looking down.  _Was this where the darkness came from_?

“Elsa, a different question? How can I get custody or guardianship over a minor that has her Emancipation as a minor?” Elsa looked at her, they have been friends for a very long time, and yes, this case was particularly sad, but there were other ways to ensure her well-being.

“Regina, this kid is broken, physically and I will assure you mentally as well. Do you want to do this?”

“Yes.”

“How long have you known her?” Regina looked at her watch.

“Almost twenty-four hours.” Elsa opened her mouth and then closed it again.

“Alright, I will draw up the paperwork, but Miss Snow has to sign her rights over to you, it will be her decision Regina, not yours. I will also go through her full medical, to make sure that we are not missing anything.” Regina nodded again. Elsa patted her on the leg and got up.

“Oh,” Regina said. “Emma got her full medical file; there is something in there that suggests she reacts badly to sedatives, and that someone she knows should be with her.” Elsa nodded; she would look the file over.

“Then I suggest Mayor that you go and clean all that blood off you and come back. She will be out for at least another few hours.”

 

Regina followed her friend’s advice, she did not even bother to throw the clothes in the hamper, and it went straight to the bin. She made her way to the bedroom and took a shower. Regina had no idea that there was so much blood on her, she washed and with every drop of blood swept up by the drain, Regina shed a tear. It has been a very long time since she allowed herself to cry like this unashamed and fragile, with no worries as to whom might think what, it was a relief. When she got out, she felt better; she dried her hair and put on something practical. The nights were getting colder. Therefore, she put on a pair of warm tracksuit pants with hiking boots and a comfortable coat. She rushed back to the hospital she wanted to be there for this child. Her heart told her this was the right thing to do she would look after this girl, and she will give her what she obviously never had before, a home, a friend and perhaps one day their friendship would be something stronger, mother and daughter. She did not care if she had to do this alone. If Emma did not want to be part of this, then so be it.

 

Emma was on her way to Wonderside to meet Hyde and Jefferson. The two men were the complete opposite of each other. Jefferson always looked like an undercover narcotics cop, wild curly brown hair with baggy jeans and usually a T-shirt. Hyde, on the other hand, was always dressed immaculately in his full Deputy uniform. Hyde explained to Emma that the P-panners were moving into Crusader territories. Edmond Dantès ran the Crusaders, and unlike most smugglers and thieves, he believed in a code. One of these codes was that you did not take from a man, what is not yours; there was a penalty to pay for that. This rule included jobs, wives, houses, a life, the list just carried on. Now Gregor had committed the ultimate crime. He took land that did not belong to him as well as a few youngsters that Gregor’s philosophy of having fun all the time lured, as opposed to Edmond's strict codes. Emma and Jefferson understood the PP’s, Edmond and Edward, not so much. They crossed the line between the two suburbs, sat down with Gregor and made a trade.

 

Dorothy confiscated a few kilograms of marijuana that the four power ladies of Ozwald swore was not only for recreational use but for healing various ailments. Zelena had the most, of course, being the most eccentric of the four. So here, Emma and Jefferson were trading four bags of weed for them to back off and return the children. Gregor liked the deal. They took the marijuana and broke camp. Emma and Jefferson returned with the children and told Edmond that the rival gang no longer occupied the land.

“The scoundrel should be taught manners,” Edmond said, as always dressed in a three-piece suit, today he had the perfect Eldredge tie knot, a blue tie, which brought out the color in his eyes. His dark hair was falling softly on his face, creating the impression of a calm, sophisticated man, disguising how dangerous he could be.

“I have to agree with my friend Sheriff. Every time they come to Untold Cove, some degree of damage occurs. They need to be told in no uncertain terms, that their presence here will not be tolerated!”

 

She looked at Jefferson. “Get those nuts under control.” Edmond and Edward looked at each other. They often wondered how the Sheriff managed to speak to all of them since they appeared to be very different.

“Mr. Dantès, I assume that you are not dealing with Gregor and his associates in any manner? Because if you do, this will continue to happen, you cannot invite them when it suits your purpose and then call me if they take advantage of your nature.” She looked at Edward. “And Deputy Hyde, I expect that I will not receive a call like this in the future. It is your responsibility to keep Mr. Dantès, in tow. However a gentleman he is.” She bowed her head slightly to him, and he did the same. She turned and went back to her SUV.

 

“Fucking bunch of macho egomaniacs!” She said to herself and turned to Storybrook again. She wanted to get to the hospital. What Henry told her made her very uneasy. She did not know if she wanted to be there because of Gina or Regina. She saw the usually composed woman with the kid. Something changed when Regina held the bloodied child.

By the time Emma got back to the hospital, she only saw an empty waiting room. The night nurse told her that the Nolan’s went home and that the Mayor was sitting with Miss Snow in the recovery room. Regina sat curled up in a chair, in what looked like warm, practical clothes for a change. She was reading a book to the sleeping child,  _Hunger games_ , Emma thought. She was about to announce her presence when Gina’s monitor started to go berserk.

 

Regina was up and looked at the girl, the nurse came in, and when the second one came in, she yelled to get a doctor here! Regina could see that her heart rate was just going higher and higher her breathing was erratic. Doctor Whale came in first, “Give her 30cc of sedative.” Before the nurse could even think of picking up the syringe, Emma was on her and Regina started to talk raptly.

“Have you read her file, you idiot? No pain meds, no sedatives, no sleeping enhancers, there is an entire list of them!” She yelled at Whale as Elsa walked in.

“Doctor Whale,” she said pleasantly. She took the IV and started to inject a massive syringe into it. “What the hell…”

“Regina, do you trust me?" Doctor Frost asked very calmly.

“Yes, but…”

“No buts. Look at her heart rate.” It was coming down slowly, and she was breathing normally. “And doctor Whale, if you interfere with my patient again, we will have a problem.” She turned and walked out.

 

Regina came after her; she knew Elsa was most likely sleeping in the on-call room. “What did you give her?” Elsa wondered for a moment if she should be irritated.

“I gave her Jack Daniels. I heard she has an infinity to it. It most likely helps her to sleep and at this moment with the amount I gave her; it should jumble up her memories so that the good once mingle with the bad once.” She touched Regina’s arm, “If it happens again and she does not wake up, I will be there to give her another shot. Regina, this is not standard practice, please keep it to yourself?” Regina nodded and returned to the room, Emma was in the chair now. She looked awful. “Hey,” Regina said softly. Emma smiled up at her. “Hey.”

“No offense, Miss Swan, but you do look like you can use a shower and some sleep.”

“With all due respect, Madam Mayor, Gina Snow is in my custody, and I will not leave her.” They smiled at each other.

“The room next door has a couch. Let’s steal it.” Regina gave Emma a very naughty grin and jumped up.

“Okay, you be the lookout while I drag the chair next door.” They nodded to each other and Regina poked her head out, there was no one in the hallway. She indicated to Emma, and they both dragged the chair into the room Neal occupied earlier. The bedding was changed, so Regina stripped the sheets and blanket and placed it on top of the couch, she rechecked the hall and whispered to Emma that the coast was clear. They pulled and pushed the couch into Gina’s room. Regina tugged one sheet into the cushions and threw the other sheet and blanket over it. She knew there would be a few extra pillows in the cupboard in the room, so she took those out as well. The moment Gina opened her eyes, she would see them.

Emma took off her boots and got in first. Regina followed her example and made herself comfortable against Emma. Emma knew better, and she knew that the brunette would soon be all over her, using her body as one big pillow.

“Madam Mayor I did not realize you have a delinquent streak in you?”

“Sheriff Swan, changing one shitty chair for a shitty couch is not delinquent, it is practical. The only reason why this one is better is the company.” Emma held her, and that was how they fell asleep.

 

Gina had another few nightmares while sedated, Emma and Regina were by her side, speaking to her softly, while Doctor Frost administered another good shot of Jack Daniels. Gina calmed down within a few minutes. Emma’s heart was breaking for the girl. She could imagine what this girl’s life was like up to now. Her Social Services report did not read any easier than her medical report. In in the seven years, she was in the system she changed homes seventeen times.  _How does anyone come back from that_? Regina had told her what she wanted to do and Emma agreed that the kid needed a chance, but that they should also keep in mind how damaged this child was, they needed to learn more and speak to the boys, they might fill in some gaps.

 

It was the first time in a very long time that Emma spoke of them, as in together. Perhaps Emma felt that if Regina could care for this child, there was still a chance for her. It made Regina very sad.  ** _When will the woman understand that she just loved her?_**  Her past, her baggage, none of it mattered.

 

Gina’s heart rate went up again, and the machines connected to her were setting off several alarms. Her heart rate was up, her breathing was fast, and her arms were swiping at the forces that were not there. Emma and Regina were by her side before Doctor Frost could inject her, Gina gave a brutal scream that shocked them all, including the medical staff, since she did not make a peep while they were working on her in the ER. Emma watched as Gina grabbed on to one of the bars around the bed and pulled it towards her, bending it slightly. All the while the screaming continued combined with a flood of tears; Doctor Frost was administering the Jack Daniels when Gina shot upright in the bed. She looked around, like that moment in the jail cell with Emma, her eyes were different, she looked panicked, then her eyes fell on Regina and stayed there. She realized she was in a hospital, that a Doctor, was injecting something in her IV.

“No, no.” Her voice came as a whisper from all the screams, Elsa caught on, pulled the needle from the IV, and held her hands up.

 

Gina’s heart rate was still too high. She needed to calm down.  Regina touched her arm. Afraid of what might happen. Emma wanted to pull her back, scared for her friend, but Gina instantly relaxed when she looked into the liquid chocolate eyes. She has beautiful eyes, Gina thought again. She looked at the protective hand Emma held over Regina’s arm. Ready to pull her away in case the delinquent went all crazy again, it made Gina smile, and as she laid back into the bed, she closed her eyes and said in a very hoarse voice:

“Glad you two sorted out your shit.” Regina and Emma stared at each other, not completely understanding what Gina meant.

 

“Gina, I am Doctor Elsa Frost.”

“You a shrink? You sound like a shrink.” Elsa smiled at the comment, and Gina was still lying there with her eyes closed, it told her much about her patient’s perception, awareness and her mental state of mind.

“What did you inject me with?” Elsa knew what she did was not standard practice, but it worked. “You were heavily sedated when you came in, and we treated you like any other trauma patient.” She got a profound sigh as if Gina wanted to say, _you bunch of fucking idiots_.

“Neal told you not to, I heard him.”

“Yes, he did, but at that point, you have lost so much blood, and we needed to operate on you. After I had read your medical file, we took you off all the drugs, but your body kept on reacting to the heavy medication, the only sensible way to keep you sedated without medication was to inject you with alcohol.” Gina smiled,

“Smart Shrink at that.” Gina took an assessment of her body, bruised ribs, sore fists, and a stab in her leg that was disturbingly paining like a bitch and a cut on her left side, maybe a cracked cheekbone. Everyone was waiting for her to ask questions.

“How is Neal?” Regina and Emma looked at each other they were both confused.

“Gina,” Emma spoke softly, “would you not rather want to know what your injuries are?”

Gina opened her eyes and looked at Emma as if she was brain dead.

“Lacerations, contusions, a fucking hole in my leg and a cut in my gut, I know what is wrong with me, and I need to know if he is alright?” There was a fight in her that Emma did not understand.

 

Elsa did not quite know what to do with the diagnoses; it was crude but correct. “He was released two days ago, minor lacerations, contusions, a broken nose and a few broken ribs. He called every day to find out if you were alright.” Emma and Regina were still not sure what the relationship between Neal and Gina was other than that they knew each other; the doctor was bold to give her so much information.

Regina and Emma took turns to stay with Gina, take showers, eat and sleep a bit; Emma was practically staying over at Regina’s home again. Gina now looked at the doctor.

“It’s been three days?” Elsa nodded, “No fucking wonder I feel like shit, I was fucking sedated for three whole days? Incompetent fuckheads. Can I get my discharge papers, please?"

 

All three women exclaimed the same sentence addressing the patient on different names,

“You are not going anywhere, Gina! “ Elsa said Emma’s was Kid and Regina got a _young lady_ in. Gina looked at them as if no one spoke. A nurse came in and asked if it would be all right if the Nolan boy came to visit, the Nolan’s kept up to date with Gina’s condition. All three women spoke together again, the message clear,  _no way_.

 

In the hallway, a very nervous Neal was waiting; they got a call that Gina was awake. The nurse returned and told him that the patient still could not have any visitors. He looked to his mother and father,

“Well, only one way to find out if she had forgiven me?” He screamed at the top of his voice, “Hey you fucking delinquent, where the hell are you?” Mary Margaret nearly had a heart attack. Gina’s voice was still sore from her last screaming nightmare, but it came through clear enough: “Recovery, you stupid brain dead retard!” Neal smiled at his mother and father, “She forgives me.” Mary Margaret took a timeout, holding on to her son. Her eyes closed, a little frown and then the shake of her head.

“Neal, three days ago you tried to kill each other, and from your account she let you live, now you insulted her, and you are happy about it?” He shrugged.

“She was practically raised by this Irish guy, insults are expected. If she said nothing, it would mean that she wrote me off as a friend, which would be worse.”

 

He practically ran to the recovery room, and he stopped the moment he saw her. “Oh, gods Gina!” Tears were in his eyes. Regina and Emma took defensive positions; Elsa busied herself looking at Gina’s charts.

“Don’t be a fucking moron all your life Neal.” Regina looked at her,

“Miss Snow, mind your language.” Gina looked from Regina to Neal. Her head slightly turned as she was thinking. “Was I just mothered?”

“Yeah, that was definitely being mothered.” Neal agreed, pressing his lips together to suppress a smile.

As in her nature, she pushed it. “You look like a fucking rabid raccoon, mind you; you look like an ugly fucking rabid raccoon!” At the words, Neal broke out in shameless tears; he moved to the bed, his lips were shaking with his sorrow.

“Ginny, oh gods, I am so sorry.” Gina gave him a small smile.

“I thought we sorted that out already, my Prince?” He cried a bit more,

 “Don’t call me that, I do not deserve it from you.”

“And yet, it is who you are and always will be to me.”

“Is there a place on your body that I can hug?” She smiled at his question and answered, “I think hugs, for now, is a big no, a kiss will do my Prince.” He kissed her on her cheek, her forehead, any place that did not have a bruise, he kissed her on the lips at the touch they both got tears in their eyes, and they kissed again, their lips quivering from sadness and joy. It was not exactly a chased kiss, but neither was it a passionate kiss.

 

Emma thought to herself that no one had ever kissed her that way, with sadness, regret, hope, and joy all in one kiss. The adults looked at them, Mary Margaret and David joined them. Regina spoke first. Her tone sounded annoyed. “Could the two of you not have done this three days ago?” They both laughed and then cringed, Neal from the split lip he had and Gina from the fractured cheekbone. She held his hand, looking almost happy Regina thought.

“Can I get you anything Kid?” Gina gave her a look, and Emma could not determine what it was? Sadness, regret, hate. Gina just shook her head.

“Well then David and I are off, I still need to speak to both of you, so don’t leave town.” Gina rolled her eyes at the Sheriff. Mary Margaret gave her a tin,

“I have no idea what you like, there is a bit of everything, but it seems dumb now since your face hurts too much to eat.” She rambled; it amused Gina, knowing what this woman could do on a good day.

“Thank you very much, Mrs. Nolan, I will get there.”

Elsa looked at her, “I will sign your release papers as soon as you can walk. I will send some crutches over, do we have a deal?” Gina nodded. Regina did not want to leave so she took a seat on the couch, Mary Margaret kissed her son and told him not to stay too long, that Gina needed rest.

 

He grabbed a chair, he had so many questions, and he was holding her hand again.

“What happened to you in prison?” She sighed.

“Really?” Regina looked up; she said it exactly the way Emma would. “Neal I have not seen you in a decade, and that is your first question?” He looked down.

“I know it was something ruthless because no one will tell me.” She shook her head.

“I got shanked in the showers.” She took his hand and traced it over the scar under her left eye; she let him touch the white cut on her left forearm and then she turned slightly, placing his hand on her side between two ribs.

“See, bad, but they were a bunch of pussies!” He nodded.

 

Regina had been watching the entire time, she had seen Gina’s dark side, and here she was, loving someone in such a way that she eased his mind, told him the truth and yet kept the awful, reality of what happened from him.

“Give me some good news, what’s in the bag?” Neal had forgotten, he zipped it open, and the first item he gave her was a knife. Gina placed it under her pillow.

“Thank you, Neal.” Her words were so sincere that Regina had to ask,

“Is it a Boston thing, Irish mob? What is it with the knives?” They looked at her as if they completely forgotten that she was still there.

Gina answered. “We grew up in a tough neighborhood that is how Neal and I got split up, our homes were attacked, and everyone fled. No one ever went anywhere without a knife or a weapon of some kind.” Neal did not look at Regina, she knew him too well.

“What else you got me?” He smiled, he had the best surprise yet. Neal pulled it out!

“Oh, fucking aces Neal! Wow, thanks.” Regina looked her eyebrow up. Trying to figure out what kind of clothes Gina liked.

She looked at the red and white shirt, miles too big for her. Gina grabbed it, smelled it, without hesitation took the hospital gown off, and pulled the sweater on. Regina’s mouth opened, she did not know if it was the non-inhibition that shocked her, the various tattoos or the abundantly damaged skinny body. Neal, on the other hand, did not bat an eye.

 

“Oh yeah! Shining will love it! Got you some black surfs to go with it, and these.” He held up something, “They are called x-Bionic energizer ladies boxer shorts” Gina looked at it, “Guess it’ll do” She smiled and nodded for him to come and sit next to her. He helped her to turn; she clung to his arm due to the pain.

“Can I help?” Regina stood there as if she knew what to do.

“Hold her right leg, as straight and still as you can.” Neal seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He pulled the boxer over both legs as far as he could.

“On three,” Regina did not know what that meant, but on three, Neal lifted Gina and pulled the shorts on. She was standing now, and Regina could see a light gleam of sweat on her forehead and arms. Neal bent and pulled the surf shorts up her good leg and then helped her to lean on him, lifting her a bit, “Miss Mills?” She understood, she pulled the shorts under Gina's foot and pulled it up. They pulled the shorts up together, and Gina gratefully sat down again.

 

Regina looked at the big shirt again. “What, if I may ask, is that Miss Snow?” Neal and Gina exchanged a look.

“This?” She looked at Regina as if she has personally insulted her. “Really, Miss Mills? This,” She rubbed over the icon of the jersey. “This is the BU Terriers Woman’s Ice hockey team’s, proper gear. And do you know who else supports the BU Terriers?”

“My son.” Gina smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. Elsa came in with the crutches; they almost looked like ski poles, her forearms could rest in them, while her hand held onto a grip, it would enable her to walk, keeping the weight off her leg, but at the same time, put minimal strain on her cut arm.

“Awesome!” She said and then to Neal, “Let’s go home!”

“No Gina, our deal was, as soon as you can walk.” Gina smiled and took the crutches and slipped into the baller slide sandals Neal placed on the floor for her. “Let’s go.”

Regina and Elsa watched the two; Gina was walking as if she was in no pain. Regina thought about the effort it took from her, just moments before to get dressed. She looked at Elsa. “I suspect that she would rather kill herself than to stay here another night?” Elsa sighed.

“I think you are right.”

They caught up with the two, Gina was perspiring through her effort, and she was in immense pain, mostly from her side.

 

“Alright, you two.” Elsa stopped them in their tracks. She called a porter for a wheelchair. Without argument, Gina sat down. She looked at Elsa.

“I think I pulled some stitches.” The Phycologist just shook her head. Regina was busy on her phone.  They wheeled Gina back into a room, Neal and Elsa had her back on the bed. Elsa lifted up her jersey blood already soaked the bandages. She cut the bandages off, told her to lay still, called a nurse for a trolley of all the things she would need. She took out a syringe and a tiny bottle. “I don’t want to be sedated again, please?”

 

Elsa pulled a chair up, sucking up the liquid into the syringe. “This is like a local anesthetic, and I will only use it on your side to put the stitches back in.” Gina nodded, even though it looked as if she wanted to cry. Elsa continued her work, while Regina came back in. Elsa gave her a look, “She pulled four stitches.”

Regina nodded, “We need to talk anyway, Doctor Frost.” Elsa was in no hurry, despite the Mayor's voice that was addressing her. Regina did not intimidate her, and she found it tremendously amusing when her friend terrified other people with that voice.

“All done,” Elsa said after she replaced the bandages. “We do need to set up some ground rules though Gina. This is not my actual job, you are my only full-time patient at the moment, I need to get back to my life, and you are not making it any easier.” She left the room to speak to Regina.

When they returned, Gina looked at Regina. There was something different in Regina’s eyes, something she could not identify.

“We talked…” Gina wanted to say something, but Regina held up a finger and turned her head slightly, a clear indication that she was not to be interrupted. Gina laid back against the pillows and folded her arms over her chest. Elsa rolled her eyes, the move would have hurt the freshly bandaged cut, but she started to know Gina through her body language. She knew that this one would be a handful.

 

“While you are recovering, you will stay with me. I have arranged a room for you on the ground floor. Doctor Frost will allow this on two conditions, one; she will check in on you after she finished at the high school and two, you will have two sessions a week with her. My only condition is that you follow my rules.”

Gina, unfolded her arms, taking in a far more relaxed position.

“So,” she dragged the word. “I get personal care in an actual house, and all I need to do is follow your rules and what? Have a Shrink session twice a week?” Both women nodded.

“I bloody hell knew you were a Shrink.” Elsa smiled, the assessment made only by hearing her voice.

“Is that all? Are you sure you don’t want a kidney too!” Her eyes were blazing. Regina did not expect opposition or rejection, neither was she used to it; she opened her mouth to talk when Neal interrupted.

“Don’t be such a numbnuts! You should see this place, it’s amazing, and Doctor Frost is the Principal of the high school, and when I landed here, I promise Ginny, she can help.”

Gina turned to him angrily now.

“Are you fucking stupid?” The rest of the conversation was in proper Irish or Gaelic; they both had such thick accents that neither women could follow the conversation. Gina wiped a tear. She looked down for a long time, not saying anything. Then she gave a crude nod, and Neal gave her shoulder a squish.

“It will be alright my love.” She looked at him,

“You better be right my Prince because if you are not, I will fucking kill you this time.” He gave her a brought smile. Regina still could not accept the insults, and it left her completely mystified that for them it seemed not only to be natural, but comforting.


	14. You have a deal, Miss Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina takes Gina home with her, hoping to offer her a new life.

**Chapter 14**

 

Gina was quiet all the way to 108 Mifflin; her eyes did not see the town or the beautiful neighborhood, her mind was far, very far away. The conversation she had with Neal in the hospital made one thing very clear. They wanted her to fit in, go back to the family they once were. A tear slipped over her cheek, Regina did not notice it. The Black Fairy’s curse changed everything.

It was not only that they were in an entirely different Realm, or the fact that six other Story Realms were here as well, everything was different, most of all she was different.

 

The problem was not that the innocent six-year-old was gone, it was the potential of what she might have been that no longer exist. In Misthaven she could have been anything. The possibilities were endless. She knows for certain that she would not have run off with any man, get married and have three babies. Even her mother understood that.  _Gods her mother_. Another tear dropped. She knew now the sacrifice, the pain and the incredible commitment her mother made. It, however, did not change the fact that as a six-year-old, all she felt was abandoned, being unwanted. She did not know if she could ever forgive her.

 

She glanced at Regina who seemed too occupied with her own thoughts. She remembered the first time Regina held her. It brought a small smile to her face. One of the advantages of being the Dark One, she could remember everything. Regina looked at her as if she was the most precious thing she had ever seen. The Queen smiled at her through her tears; she held her tight, cuddled her and was very reluctant to hand her over to anyone else. The Queen counted every tiny finger and kissed her little feet until the small bundle squealed with joy. She remembered that look in Regina’s eyes; she had it now as well, only this time Gina had no idea why. Things have changed; she was not anyone’s responsibility, why was Regina doing this for her? Gina tried to remember when was the last time she lived in a home, besides with Henry. She really could not recall.

********

She became a runner for Eoin, until one day he told her in no uncertain terms that she does not belong in his world. He sent her to Tommy and Mick with instructions to take care of her. Now and again, Social Services would pick her up, but Tommy was always waiting for her to return. Eoin told him that the kid was too bright to be part of their world and when Tommy saw her dig through the rubble and pick out every single part of a bike, like putting together a puzzle, he understood. None of the men knew exactly what to do with her, but she was so independent that as long as she had something to do, to eat and a place to sleep, she flourished.

 

 

“Here we are,” Regina, announced she patted Gina on her leg and got out of the car. Emma heard the Mercedes and came out. Regina opened the door for Gina, she took her hand and Gina placed all her weight on her left leg, which put a strain on her left side. She was already perspiring from the effort. Emma came to her and told her to put her arm around her neck. Gina looked at her. “Are you serious?” Neither Regina nor Emma understood the girl’s reluctance to accept help from Emma. If Regina offered, she was sure Gina would comply without thought.

“I need to carry you inside.” The expression on Gina's face was very similar to the one she had when her sentence to life in prison was handed down. She took a deep breath and looked at Regina, who gave her an encouraging smile.  _Gods damn that smile_! She placed her arm around Emma, she was trembling, and Emma could literary feel the fear pulsing from her. She did not understand it at all when Gina was in lockup everything seemed fine. They had a good conversation. They shared thoughts; there was no fear, why now?

 

Regina went in first, to make sure everything was ready. The call she made was to Leroy, to organize some of his people to turn her parlor into a bedroom. She walked in and had a smile. He knew how to consolidate projects even if he seemed a little hyped sometimes. Emma placed Gina on the bed, which Regina turned down for her. She looked at the girl, she was tired, and Regina wondered if it was only physical exhaustion, or if there was some emotional reason as well.

Emma asked her if she needed anything and she just got a quiet shake from the girl. She looked to Regina for help. Something changed, between the fight with Neal and now, something happened that no one seemed to be aware of. Emma left the room, but she stayed close enough to hear their conversation if there, would be any.

 

“Emma brought all your things from the station, all your clothes are in the cupboard, and your saddlebags are over there.” Regina pointed to everything.

“Where are my knives?” Somehow, Regina knew it would be the first question. She took out the pocket knife that Neal gave her in the hospital and placed it under her pillow. She got up and put the waistcoat with all the others on a chair in the corner of the room, not too far out of her reach. It instantly made Gina relax. Regina retook a place on the bed and laid her hand on Gina’s leg. They looked at each other and Gina immediately thought about a time when the Queen would look at her this serious. It made her smile.

“You want to discuss something with me, but you do not know how I would react to your request.” Regina gave her a sideways glance.

“How does someone so young become so observant?” It was not just that she seemed attentive; to Regina, it felt like she knew her. That this fifteen-year-old girl understood the precarious Mayor, her darkness and her desire for real love.

Gina smiled at the question. In so many ways, they were very alike, even before the darkness took over the six-year-old; their desires for acceptance and commitment gave them a bond, long before now. Regina was the first one to expose her to magic. So many others could have taught her, but Regina’s intention was never to teach her the craft, only for her to understand the magic and what it could do.

 

“So Madam Mayor, what would you like to discuss with me?” Regina smiled the scar on her lip pulling up, and Gina admired her beauty again. There was a time when she wanted to be just like Regina, but it did not take too long for anyone to realize her real role model was her brother, and soon she copied him in everything, including giving up fancy dresses for leather pants and vests. She had to admit to herself that the modern version of her favorite clothes fitted better and was far more comfortable.

“It is about your stay here.” Gina smiled and relaxed against the pillows.

“Your rules?”

Regina smirked down and shook her head lightly. “No, not my rules, everything.” Gina nodded for her to continue. “I know that legally you are an adult.” One of Gina’s eyebrows shot up. Regina swallowed and stepped carefully.

“I know about the Emancipation as a minor you were given by the Governor of Massachusetts.” She watched Gina, and she anticipated walls at any moment. The young girl processing the information.

“Seems like the Sheriff has been busy.”

“We called Shining.” Gina smiled, of course, they did.  “How do you know my son?”

She knew that Regina already had the answer.  “Henry and Neal had been looking for me. It was Henry that did not give up on my case, and that is how I turn out to be released.”

Regina looked at her very seriously.

“You got him mixed up with some dangerous people.” It was not a scold or an accusation; it was more like disappointment Gina heard in her voice. She wanted to laugh at the _dangerous_ people but kept it to herself.

“Madam Mayor, your son seek me out, and I can assure you, I have met dangerous people in my life, people that to this day haunt my dreams and frighten me even after their deaths. Eoin Cavan and Jack Cooper might not be in line for the reward of citizens of the year in Boston, but when they are on your side, nothing can touch you. You have my assurance that Henry was never in any danger.”

“You love my son?” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yes, ma’am, I love him very much.”

Emma nearly blew a gasket from where she was eavesdropping. Over her dead body would she allow Henry and this delinquent girl near each other First, her leathered ass makes a pass at her woman, and now Gina was in love with her son! She wanted to go ballistic.

Regina, however, acknowledged the statement, she looked down for a moment, contemplating as to what to do or ask next. “And Neal?”

Gina smiled. “Yes, I love Neal.”

 

Regina frowned. “You tried to kill each other; you are here because of that. However, I saw the love you both displayed in the hospital…” She stopped, her mind trying to catch up. “So Henry is Shining, and Neal is your Prince…?”

“Yes,” Gina answered quietly. It was delightful for her to have the three _mothers_ trying to figure out this one, her senses already told her that Emma was not too far away.

Regina decided to return to the original topic. “About your Emancipation?” Gina felt like taking on a defensive position, and it took all of her willpower not to fold her arms over her chest.

“What about it Madam Mayor?” She started to rub Gina’s leg softly.

“You are only fifteen Honey.” The tears came, she did not want them, but they came anyway.  _Gods_ , she hated it when she felt exposed and vulnerable. Henry was holding her while she cried after a nightmare about the rape, Neal kissing her, loving her as he always has, and Regina.

Her memories flashed back the moment she saw Neal, all of it, the good and the bad. Regina was a big part of the noble and moral aspects of her early life. Gina knew that the woman before her did not remember, but she did. All the care and attention Regina gave her as a child. Little treats, games they played. Regina absolutely adored her. She always felt safe and loved with Regina. Moreover,  _fuck yes_ ; she was only human after all! Which orphan did not want a real home! Until four days ago, that was what she was, an orphan with a terrible past. _Did it matter now? Now that she knew who her family was? Her mother, her father, everyone that loved her in the Enchanted Forest_. She only had Henry and Neal, they remembered who she was, and she knew that their love for her was real, but maybe, just maybe, she could have more?

 

Regina wiped the girl’s tears. Her own emotions in upheaval,  _was this something Gina wanted? Could she be a mother all over again? Would Emma be there for them? Why was there so much strain between them, all of a sudden?_

“Gina? I know you can take care of yourself, I know you have the means to be self-sufficient, financially. The boys built you the boathouse during the summer. I know all this, what I am offering is a home…” Her voice trailed off. She had her own emotions to control. From the moment Regina held the broken bloodied child in her arms, her motherly instincts knew she wanted to protect Gina and keep her safe for as long as Regina had breath in her.

Gina looked up at her; she wiped a single tear that made its way down the beautiful face. She tried to say something, but crying made her vocal cords even heavier than the screaming did. The young woman cried some more, nodded and the two of them fell into an embrace. Regina held on tight, she kissed the top of her head and made a soft promise that she will be safe from now on.  The emotions of the day, the pain she still had, the soft, comfortable bed, the linen and the smell of Regina took her to a deeply restful, dreamless sleep.

 

Regina was busy making supper for herself and Emma. After the discussion with Gina, Emma went back to work. She was very upset about what Gina said about Henry. She had her own internal battle to fight. It was obvious that ever since the girl found out, who Regina was, their dynamic has changed significantly, but so did hers with the girl. It was not animosity or the arrogance she displayed at the beginning; it was something deeper. Emma thought to herself it was the moment Gina turned to her during the fight with Neal when the anger came through and asked Emma if the Sheriff actually thought she cared.

 

What she saw in the child’s eyes, should not be in any person’s eyes. She honestly did believe that if she pulled the trigger at that exact point, that Gina would have found death a relief. Everyone was afraid to die, to some degree. Gina, however, was not, that in itself was frightening. She saw more in the girl, she was perhaps not scared to die, but she was certainly scared to kill. Emma knew it was a point of no return, she was there herself, and Regina pulled her back, but she had killed. When the De’vil woman threatened Henry, Emma hit her, and she fell off the cliff. Regina brought her back from that too. If this Kid had even the slightest chance of returning to a normal life, Emma knew, only Regina would be able to do it.

 

It left the both of them in a place. They tread before. However, Emma knew this time it would be very different. Gina was not either woman’s child. Regina would not adopt her. She would become her Legal Guardian. Was there still a place for Emma or did Regina move on? She would be raising a child again, she would have someone with her all the time, and at that, someone that seemed to understand her. It still amazed her, how accurate Gina was about the brunette’s needs and personality that first morning. Regina was correct when she said that the kid was very perceptive.  _Eyes that could see, what other people could not even hear_.

Emma looked and felt exhausted by the time she made it back to the mansion. Regina was a breath of fresh air; it made Emma feel even worse. A child could see what was in front of her. Not only a beautiful, sophisticated woman, but also a woman filled with love, care, and so much compassion.

 

Emma just sat miserably, at the breakfast nook. Regina was too involved in her own thoughts to pay attention to Emma’s mood. They had a lot to discuss. It could wait. She wanted Elsa to talk with Gina first. About school and this decision. For her it was a natural choice, she would take care and love this girl as her own. However, for someone that has taken care of themselves from age six, lived through several forms of abuse and called Framingham penitentiary home for eighteen months, she was certain, the choice was not as easy as a nod. She was relieved when Gina did nod, but she instinctively knew there would be more questions later.

 

Emma decided to ask the question that has been plaguing her ever since Regina decided to take Gina in. “Regina?” She stopped what she was doing and turned to Emma. The Mayor has been waiting for this, one way or the other, she was about to find out if Emma will still be in her life. “Yes, Emma.” She tried to smile at her to camouflage the anxiety and stress she felt.  
“What will happen to us?” Regina’s eyes flared.

“There is no us, Miss Swan, you have made that abundantly clear.” Emma felt the sadness of her choice all over again. She nodded and was about to get up when Regina spoke again.

“Emma, I understand, I might not like it, but I do understand. I love you and loving you is hurting more than anything that I have ever felt before in my life. But Emma I still have a life and now, I will go on with it, with or without you. The matter is now your choice; I am here, always your friend, your boss and the mother of your child. We have that, and always will, and if that is all you want, then I will respect it.”

 

She tried to keep her voice even, to keep the sadness out of it. “Emma, I want to give Gina all the things she never had. A home, education, love. I will raise a child again. Would you like to raise a child with me again?”

Emma did not hide the tears. For months now she felt like she had lost everything, yet, here, this woman that she loved so much, gave her another chance. Her voice was full of emotion when she spoke.

“We did a good job the first time?” Regina smiled,

“Yes, we did.” Emma nodded.

 “I would love to raise another child with you Regina.” Regina’s smile was bigger this time. She felt relieved, and she felt like they might still have a chance to repair their relationship, even if it was only their friendship. She walked around the counter; Emma got up and opened her arms.  _Gods, this is where you belong my love_ , Emma thought to herself.

 

Gina woke up, usual time. She looked around the room, and then she remembered where she was. The patient tried to get up, her side hurting again. She pushed the pain down; she needed to go to the bathroom. She looked for her crutches; she did not see them in the room. Emma popped her head into the ex-parlor.  _Great_! Gina thought. This situation was going to be an entirely different game now with the Sheriff.

“Need a hand?” Gina looked at her, she tried to keep her anger inside, and she knew her eyes would display what she felt.  _No moron, I am fine and can do this by myself_. She gave Emma a small smile, “Yes, please Sheriff?”

 _Well, it is a start_. Emma thought. She came around the bed and helped Gina out. She told the girl to put her arm around her again. Gina did not question or argued this time. Emma carried her to the guest toilet on the ground level. Her crutches were standing ready for her there. Emma placed her down. “Will you be alright from here or can I help?” Gina had to calm herself.

“I’ll be alright thanks.” She grabbed her crutches and slammed the door in Emma’s face.

“Oh, the joy of raising teenagers.” She said sarcastically while waiting for Gina.

 

Gina washed her hands and tried to fluff her hair a bit to get her look back. When she came out, she looked at the sheriff. She gave Emma an up and down. They looked so much alike, and here they stood in the same kind of pajamas. Gina looked down. She would rather poke out her own eyes than letting Emma see what was in them. “Kid?” Gina swallowed and looked up, she smiled, and Emma realized they had the exact same smile.

She had so many questions.  _Was it possible that this was her baby sister? Did this kid know who her parents were? No, Gina had no memories of her parents either. If they are related, their parents did the exact same thing to both of them. What kind of people would do that?_  She pushed the thoughts aside.

 

“Coffee?” Gina smiled at the question and answered. “Only if it is not that crap you drink.” Emma smiled. “What exactly would you prefer?” Gina gave her a very mischievous smile.

“Irish coffee would do?” Emma opened her mouth to scold her when she saw the twinkle in the green eyes. She shook her head.

“We definitely need to talk about your drinking habits.” Gina gave her a sweet smile as she strolled past her using the crutches.

“Still have that little legal issue, which says I can. And I would kill for a cigarette right now.” Emma sighed.

“How long have you been hanging out with Eoin?” Gina gave her one of her looks again.

“He practically raised me, fed me Guinness for strong, healthy bones.” Emma literally bit her tongue. She hoped Regina was ready for the responsibility she was taking on. Henry had his moments, but overall he was a good kid, Gina was an entirely new ballgame. Emma could not quite make out when she was joking and when she was serious, over and above that, there was this strange tension between them.

Gina made her way over to the espresso machine. “Wow, I need to get me one of these.” Emma looked at her.

“You need a degree in engineering to operate that thing!” She put the kettle on.

“Really, Miss Swan!” Emma’s mouth fell open, and Gina wanted to crack herself up, but it was too sore to laugh. She said it exactly as Regina would.

Regina was watching the interaction from the door; neither was aware of her presence. She was enjoying the barter much more than she should have. Gina was busy making herself a double espresso; she looked to Emma that was still fiddling with the kettle.

“Gods, Sheriff, lie down before you hurt yourself.” Regina pressed her lips together, she wanted to help, but she also wanted to see where this was going.

 

Gina took out the cocoa, threw a dab of sugar in, mixed it with a tad of milk and when she had a creamy substance, she added the hot water. She made her way to the fridge, where she found the whipped cream; sprayed a good lump on it and opened the cupboard where she found the cocoa and shook a good bit of cinnamon on top. Gina slides the cup over the smooth marble surface like a bartender would pass on a pint without spilling a drop. She poured the double espresso into the biggest cup she could find and filled the rest with water, adding three sugars.

Regina decided it was time to make her presence known. “Smells good.” Gina looked up as she was about to take a sip. She stopped midway. She placed the cup down and closed her eyes, Emma watching her. Regina had one of her silk nighties on, bare feet, smooth, perfect legs, perfectly manicured toes in a scarlet red. “What?” Regina asked.

 

Gina continued to look down; she was bracing herself against the marble surface. She was breathing hard. “Are you alright Miss Snow?” Regina started to walk closer, but Gina stopped her with a finger, much the way Regina herself would do. Gina breathed.

“Mayor Mills, I do realize this is your home, but as I will be staying here for a while, there need to be ground rules.” Both women wanted to smirk. Regina smiled.

“And what rule would you implement first Miss Snow?” Still looking down, Gina answered.

“I promised both of you not to interfere with your family or your relationship, but fuck me gently, if you want me to keep that commitment, you need to dress more appropriately.” Regina and Emma looked at each other, both very confused.

 

“I can certainly comply with that. I am just a bit confused…”

“So am I,” Emma said with a huge frown. “You are in love with my son, yet you are still after my woman?” Regina opened her mouth to Emma’s comment and then thought the better of it; she wanted to hear the answer either way. Gina swallowed the coffee in one swallow.

“By the gods, now I most certainly need that Irish.” She looked at Emma when she said it. “Sheriff, there is an enormous difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. As for the Mayor, are the two of you that dense?” Both women opened their mouths. “Fuck, no, please don’t answer that. Four months ago, I lived with hundreds of women. Fucking beautiful women. Women that I showered with, every day, naked. So neither of you can bloody blame me if I think you are both…” She swallowed. “Incredibly, fucking sexy.”

 

Emma turned her head. “You do not look at me like you look at her.” Gina swallowed.  _And there is a fucking good reason for that_! “True Sheriff, none the less, you are stunning, just not my taste.”

The women had a silent conversation with their eyes. Gina dared to watch them.  _How blind are they? Did they know how few people had that?_  She waited for the verdict. Regina handed down the rule.

“Fine Miss Snow, your position is noted. However, you need to clean up your language use. There are multitudes of proper adjectives that you can use instead of your colorful variety of curse words.” Gina looked up, making sure she was only looking at her eyes.

“With all due respect, Madam Mayor, raised between abusive foster scum, the Irish mob, and prison. That is the basic language I know.” Neither Emma nor Regina knew if they should laugh or be upset. “However, I am confident in a more sophisticated environment that my language might improve.” She gave Regina a little frown with a smile that made her look so young.

“You have a deal, Miss Snow.”

Gina breathed a bit better.

“Can you please make me a cup of coffee, while I change?” Gina blushed and nodded. Emma took her first sip of cocoa and looked up at Gina in surprise.

“This is good.” She got a small smile in return.

“Henry says the same.”

Emma went stiff again. She _made his cocoa?_  She wanted to start asking questions about their relationship again when there was a knock at the front door. Emma frowned, it was just after six, who on earth would visit this early?

 

She stood up to open the door. A very excited Neal stood before her. “Morning, Sheriff, okay if I pop in before school?”

“Sure.” Emma let him in with a frown. He walked into the kitchen as Regina came down.

“Morning Madam Mayor.” He still had the dark black marks under his eyes, but he had a bright smile on his face.

“Little early for Irish isn’t it Ginny?” She gave him a look.

“No, Sheriff won’t let me, and if you call me that again, I will kick your ass. Again!” He smiled even more brightly. It still fascinated Regina, the way they spoke to each other.

“Here you go Madam Mayor.” She handed Regina a cup of black coffee. Regina took a sip and looked at her.

“This is perfect, how did you know how I drink my coffee?”

“Really?” Gina asked, sounding like Emma again.

“It’s her thing,” Neal answered. “She noticed everything. Give her a week, and she will know the entire routine of the town.”

“So,” He continued. “What are your plans for today?” He got a look from Gina that made him burst into laughter. "Right!" He passed her a small toolbox. “I do know you, even if you have changed.” She opened the box. She nodded through her tears as she looked at the content.

“Thank you, Neal.”

“Sure thing Princess. And here is Belle’s number.”

She was still looking at the content of the box. “Who is Belle, why would I call her, and if you call me that again…”

“Yeah, yeah, ass-kicking. Belle is the Librarian; however, the Mayor also has a lot of the kind of books you read.”

She closed the box, her eyes pensive.  _What now_? She thought.


	15. To see a world in a grain of sand

**Chapter 15**

 

Regina’s study was comfortable; designed much like the Mayor’s Office. Regina was sitting behind her desk, working from home while her patient stretched out on the couch. Regina tucked her in and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Gina had the toolbox that Neal gave her that morning on her lap, and she was busy with its content. It was everything she needed to clean and sharpen her knives. Regina watched her for a while. It seemed that she did not even look at the task in front of her, Gina’s hands automatically moved. She knew exactly which wet stone to use on what blade. Regina could see that her mind was a thousand miles away. The fact that she could think and do something without looking at it too much told Regina that the girl was bright, she also noticed for the first time that Gina was also ambidextrous. What prickled Regina’s curiosity was to know where the young woman’s thoughts were. She had been in deep thought ever since Neal dropped off the box.

“What are you thinking?” Gina looked from the window to Regina, her hands never easing on its task. “Life.” Regina smiled at her. Despite the fact that she was working from home, she was immaculately dressed, as the Mayor would be if she went to the office.

“Your life or life in general?” Gina sighed.  _How to explain this one_? Her memories were back, every, last one. Her life in the Enchanted Forest, her relationships with all the people she has met so far. She had already lied to Neal this morning, denying knowing who Belle was. There was this intricate relationship she shared with the women she was living with now. The one her role model and the other, the embodiment of so many fears. Then there was Henry and Neal. She knew the moment she told them she had her memories back; they will ask her to break the curse.

 

There were still several problems with that. Firstly, she has been here almost a week and time was still standing still. Then there was the last page of Henry’s book. They would want to know what the Savior whispered. She wanted to laugh. It was not the words whispered that caused the problem. It was the actions promised with it. Nothing in her mind could resolve that puzzle.

She looked at Regina; perhaps the answer was simple after all. Gina started the poem with a dramatic display of her hands, her facial expressions and tone change to dramatize the sadness of what she quoted.

 

To see a world in a grain of sand  
And a heaven in a wildflower,  
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,  
And eternity in an hour.

A dog starv'd at his master's gate  
Predicts the ruin of the state.

The game-cock clipt and arm'd for fight  
Does the rising sun affright.

Every wolf's and lion's howl  
Raises from hell a human soul.

It is right it should be so;  
Man was made for joy and woe;  
And when this we rightly know,  
Thro' the world we safely go.

Joy and woe are woven fine,  
A clothing for the soul divine.  
Under every grief and pine  
Runs a joy with silken twine.

This is caught by females bright,  
And return'd to its own delight.  
The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar,  
Are waves that beat on heaven's shore.

The babe that weeps the rod beneath  
Writes revenge in realms of death.  
The beggar's rags, fluttering in air,  
Does to rags the heavens tear.

He who mocks the infant's faith  
Shall be mock'd in age and death.  
He who shall teach the child to doubt  
The rotting grave shall ne'er get out.

He who respects the infant's faith  
Triumphs over hell and death.  
The child's toys and the old man's reasons  
Are the fruits of the two seasons.

The questioner, who sits so sly,  
Shall never know how to reply.  
He who replies to words of doubt  
Doth put the light of knowledge out.

The emmet's inch and eagle's mile  
Make lame philosophy to smile.  
He who doubts from what he sees  
Will ne'er believe, do what you please.

If the sun and moon should doubt,  
They'd immediately go out.  
To be in a passion you good may do,  
But no good if a passion is in you.

Every night and every morn  
Some to misery are born,  
Every morn and every night  
Some are born to sweet delight.

Some are born to sweet delight,  
Some are born to endless night.

We are led to believe a lie  
When we see not thro' the eye,  
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,  
When the soul slept in beams of light.

God appears, and God is light,  
To those poor souls who dwell in night;  
But does a human form display  
To those who dwell in realms of day.

 

Regina had tears in her eyes. “William Blake.” She said, softly. Gina nodded.

“Yes, some fragments from  _Auguries of Innocence_.”

“Did you forget the rest of the poem or did you deliberately only quoted the depressing parts?” Gina’s eyes turned dark again; she watched Regina distinctly. “The whole damn thing is depressing, but those are the parts that speak to me. The phrases I know and understand because of experience.”

“Is that what you believe Gina that your life will always be darkness? Gina turned her head slightly. “My darkness and yours are very different Madam Mayor.”

“Is it? You lost control when you were fighting Neal, you sated some of it when you yelled at Emma, and then, of course, you took control of it while you were bleeding to death, alone in a prison cell.”

Gina’s face was unreadable. She got a small twitch around her left eye, her hands have stopped their work, and her right hand was in a fist again.

“Did you think I did not see it? I have also seen the capacity of love you have. I can see you fighting now. Fighting to shut me out, build your walls higher.” Gina released a breath. She should have known better than to talk to Regina about fate, destiny, and darkness. She did conquer all of it. “It is not always easy to change, especially when choosing the darkness was not your choice at all.”

Regina nodded and quoted:

 

From childhood's hour I have not been  
As others were; I have not seen  
As others saw; I could not bring  
My passions from a common spring.  
From the same source I have not taken  
My sorrow; I could not awaken  
My heart to joy at the same tone;  
And all I loved, I loved alone.  
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn  
Of a most stormy life- was drawn  
From every depth of good and ill  
The mystery which binds me still:  
From the torrent, or the fountain,  
From the red cliff of the mountain,  
From the sun that round me rolled  
In its autumn tint of gold,  
From the lightning in the sky  
As it passed me flying by,  
From the thunder and the storm,  
And the cloud that took the form  
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)  
Of a demon in my view.

 

Gina laughed. “Edgar Allan Poe, _Alone_. What are we doing, Madam Mayor? Testing each other’s knowledge of English Lit or trying to outdo each other’s pain and darkness?”

“Neither, though I am impressed with your knowledge of poetry. You need to understand that you are no longer alone and if nothing else, I do understand your pain and darkness, to some degree at least.”

Gina thought for a moment, looking down, her hands busy with its task again. Besides the fact that she did not know if she and Emma could break the curse, did she want to break it?

It will bring magic back to Storybrook, or take them back to the Enchanted Forest, one way or another Gina Snow would be the Dark One and the woman in front of her would be Queen Regina again. Not quite the Queen, she was when she killed left and right, but those terrible memories of her past would be back. Gina had heard the stories of the Evil Queen’s redemption. She knew how Trina came into the world and preferring the term Evil Queen, but having so much of Regina’s light. She knew exactly how far Regina had come to be the woman sitting before her. The fact remained; that Regina could only remember a fraction of her darkness.

“What made you change?” She knew the answer, Henry, Emma, love.

“I wanted to change, for Henry, he saw me as someone terrible, and I was. The way I treated people, how I treated Emma. I would go to any length to destroy other people’s happiness if it stood in the way of what I wanted.” She thought about her past; her hand automatically went to the new necklace that Emma gave her.

“What about you? Was it just your circumstances that made you dark?” Gina thought about her first six years of life, how many people died, and how many mortal enemies stood with the biggest Realms and the White Kingdom to beat back the Black Fairy.

“No Madam Mayor, I guess if I analyze it in its deepest depth, it was a choice I made. I have seen too much injustice in my life, so somewhere in my young mind, I decided to stop it, the problem today is that it has a life of its own, no one ever warned me about the consequences.”

It still amazed Regina, not only the girl’s knowledge but her understanding of complex concepts. It was not just her experiences and her eyes that did not belong to someone so young; it was her wisdom as well.

 

“Where did you learn all the things you know, where does this insight come from?” Gina smiled at her. “The Irish mob did not only taught me how to drink and pickpockets, but they also taught me other things as well.” It was one of those comments where Regina did not know if she was serious or making a joke. She suspected to a degree; there was some truth in those words.

“Mind if I ask you more questions?”

“Thought that was why you got me a Shrink?”

Regina rolled her eyes. “Doctor Frost will just assess you. As the principal of the high school, she will decide which grade to start you off, and as a qualified Psychologist, she might be able to help with the changes that are taking place in your life.”

Gina stopped what she was doing. “You are speaking of the Emancipation again?” Regina did not want to bring the subject up, but in the end, that was what they have been talking about all along, Regina tried to understand the girl, protect her.

“I want Doctor Frost to speak to you before you make your final decision.”

“I thought I had?”

Regina bit her lip. “You need to sign a legal document that would make me your Legal Guardian.” Gina frowned.

 “Would that mean I cannot smoke and drink anymore? Ooh, and sex, can I still have sex?”

Regina opened and closed her mouth. This was all part of raising a teenager, she told herself.

“Gina, you are fifteen, so no, no sex. Smoking is not only a despicable habit. It is unhealthy. As for drinking…” Regina stopped. “Sorry, I don’t have anything, since Eoin Cavan apparently gave beer to you like mother’s milk.”

Gina burst into laughter. It was not only the look on Regina’s face. It was everything, the way she said it, her insight into her Guinness consumption. She had been smoking, drinking and having sex for a while now.

 

“Would this be more of your rules?”

“No, it is the State’s rules, no sex until you are sixteen, no smoking until you are eighteen and no drinking until you are twenty-one!” Gina nodded her head with each law quoted. Her voice was ominous and husky when she answered.

“This would be the same kind of State laws that had put me on trial as an adult, despite the fact that I was not eighteen, and gave me full legal rights as an adult at the age of fifteen?”

Regina chewed her cheek. “Don’t be such a smart-ass.” Gina let her mouth fall open in mock shock her hand over her heart. “Language, Madam Mayor!”

Regina growled at her and Gina gave her a look. “Besides, if I remember correctly, Code § 255-A of the State of Maine did not trouble you a few days ago?”

Regina blushed in a way Gina had never seen her. It made her laugh hard and loud until the pain in her side became too much. Regina came around the desk and lifted up another oversized jersey to look at the stitches, now only covered with sanitized waterproof plaster. Gina watched her as she inspected the wound. She was hunched on her heels, knees together, always the lady, everything about her was truly admirable. Gina lifted her chin with two fingers in order for Regina to look her in the eyes. Regina swallowed at the intensity she saw there.

“Whether or not I would like to admit it that was some kiss, Miss Mills. Please never worry about it, or its implications?”

Regina blew out a breath and gave Gina one of her half smile sideways looks. “Are you always going to be so obstinate?”

Gina gave her a big smile, “Madam Mayor I have not even started yet.”

“I thought as much,” Regina commented dryly as she returned to her desk.

“Back to the point, there are rules and laws, and I would like you to comply with it?”

“Can’t promise you that I will always be moral Madam Mayor.” No, Regina thought that would be too much to expect.

“So will you sign the Guardianship document?” Gina was busy polishing one of her knives.

“All depends on what it says. I will need to understand it.”

“Of course,” Regina said. “And while we are on the matter, can you please start calling me something other than Madam Mayor?”

Gina looked up at her concerned. “I am not ready to call you mom!”

Regina smiled, “No, I would not expect that I was thinking more in the line of Regina.”

Gina looked at her for a moment and then returned to what she was doing. “Perhaps, when hell freezes over Mayor.”

Regina smiled. She might be rough around the edges, but for the most part, she had manners and showed respect to others. Except for Emma.

“We also need to talk about Emma.” Gina did not even bother to look up. “What changed between the two of you?” Regina asked.

“What do you answer if you don’t know what to answer?” Gina answered, and Regina looked deeply into her eyes. There was something, she was holding back, and Regina assumed that Emma or Henry had something to do with it.

“Emma will co-sign with me… It is a requirement, in case anything happens to me, you will still be taken care of.” Regina was expecting an explosion.

“You are raising a kid together, again?”

“I guess you could say that.” The Mayor replied.

“You truly are too good for her you know?”

“Why do you say that?” Regina asked with a frown. Gina sighed. “Mayor, she has issues, and until she gets rid of her problems, she cannot fully commit to you. I think you deserve more and better.” Her face looked young, but her words were so thoughtful it made Regina feel that despite the fact that they have known each other only a few days that Gina already had a protective streak towards her.

“I know of all of Emma’s problems, walls, character and I love and accept her the way she is.” Gina narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps, but has she accepted them all?”

There was that insight again. Regina continued to wonder how this child could see so much.

 

Doctor Frost came for their first session on a Saturday morning. She first checked all of Gina’s wounds, happy with the progress that she was making, and surprised that she managed to not to pull more stitches. She told Gina from the beginning that most of the healing would take six weeks and that her leg, knee, and the side will be sensitive for a while after that.

“Is there anything specific you would like to talk about?” Gina had to calm her mind several times during the morning. As a physician, Doctor Frost was fantastic, as a psychologist, she felt like stabbing herself in the leg. Elsa watched her, all the nervous tension, the reluctance to talk, the feedback she received from Regina was positive, and Emma’s was indifferent.

“Nope.” Elsa’s blue eyes smiled.

“Fine, let’s start with your nightmares?”

Gina gave her a look that spoke volumes. “Sure, let’s start with the most painful, frightening, unresolved and ill-understood subject first.”

“Is that what you feel?” Gina placed her head in her hands and shook it.  _Fucking Shrinks, always asking the same stupid questions_.

“What do you feel Gina, right now?” She looked up to the Doctor.

“Why do you want to know what I feel? Why is that always the questions,  _how does it make you feel, do you feel different after talking about it. Can you describe your feelings?”_

Elsa just held her pose. She read Gina’s medical files including the psychiatric diagnoses and treatment; it appalled her _._

 

Regina and Emma were not too far away. They both knew it was a gross violation of Gina’s privacy, but they still knew so little about her, and they both knew that Elsa would only report on Gina’s medical condition. Emma was first to notice the rise in Gina’s voice.

“Do you know that Psychologist Robert Plutchick suggested that there are ninety emotions? Ninety! The English language consists of about nine thousand five hundred words. Body language and facial expressions and non-verbal communication are in excess of thirty thousand different expressions. Of the six basic emotions, there are, I have only ever felt three. Fear, anger, and disgust. Fucking guess at which one I am now?”

 

Elsa smiled at her, and if possible, the disgust rose. “Gina, I actually could not give a shit how you feel, that is not why I asked the question. I wanted to know the extent of your emotions. You answered the question. I can sit here and inquire if you know what joy is and you would most likely give me a textbook answer. That does not mean you know what joy is. In many child abuse cases, most of the emotions that the eventual adult can identify with are only the negative emotions, anger, fear, hatred. They actually know what it feels like, but emotions like care, forgiveness, love, these are such foreign concepts that they can only understand it logically.”

Gina looked at her. “You could have started with that speech.”

Elsa smiled, “It would not have provoked you.”

Gina’s eyebrow shot up. “Doc, you have seen what happens to people when I lose my temper, it is a terrible idea to provoke me.”

“Noted.” She still smiled. “You did not lose your temper with Neal did you?”

“No.”

“Why the fight?”

“He pulled his knives on me; I defended myself.”

Elsa shook her head. “Before that, when you saw him, you yelled at him, you cried, but at that stage, you did not lose your temper.”

“I was angry. Seeing Neal opened up old wounds, it revived memories I have suppressed for as long as I can remember. He represented my loss and everything that happened since then.”

“Do you blame him for all the difficult and painful things that have happened to you?”  Elsa inquired.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It was not his fault like he said, I was six, and he was ten, we were both in impossible situations.”

“So who do you blame?” The doctor carried on.

“Someone that should have known better, but was too preoccupied with everyone and everything except me.”

“Your mother?” Gina nodded. “Do you remember her?” Gina kept her eyes down, just in case Elsa was sharp enough to recognize the lie.

“Not much, just that she was not there when I needed her. She made a promise to me, that she would look for me, that we would be a family again and that our love would be strong enough to overcome everything. She lied.”

“You are starting to remember more?” Elsa was curious.

“Yes. And before you fucking ask me why do I think that is… It is the Mayor and the Sheriff; I don’t know, the stability.”

“You have been here a few days, and you have not had a nightmare?”

“No, I haven’t.”

Elsa bit her lips not to ask the question; her eyebrow lifted though. Gina rolled her eyes. “Truthfully?” Elsa nodded. “I sleep better; I have never had my own bed or bedroom for that matter. The mattress is soft, all the linen is clean, and there is not a single threat to me. I have never had that.”

Elsa had to use all her training and put on her Principal face to recover from the confession.

“So you feel safe?” Gina frowned. “I guess.”

“Then we have made significant progress, you have felt, actually felt and identified a new emotion.”

Elsa closed the dossier she had for Gina and took out another one. Gina could see the official seal of Framingham. “This is your education report; I was quite surprised when I read it,” Gina smirked. “Why, because I have an IQ of a hundred and ninety-two?”

“How did you…”

“Really? I can read upside down.” Gina answered as if it was normal.

“Alright, you are turning sixteen on 21 June.”

“24 March.” Elsa looked at her. “All your documents…”

“21 June was the day I got recorded by Social Services. I only remembered my actual birth date much later. It is 24 March 2000.”

“Is that why you have the dragon tattooed on your back? The fire sign on your hand?” Elsa asked.

“No, and please never ask me that again?” Gina stated firmly.

Elsa nodded, made a note and continued. “With your IQ and the results from your studies at Framingham, I am confident that you can take your GED and pass with flying colors. However, as your Doctor, I would recommend you start school as soon as you can walk and begin with the tenth grade. Just be a child for a while?”

Gina looked down, to hide her emotions. To just be a kid. She did not even know if it was possible. She looked up to Elsa. “That will be great.”

She would most likely be bored out of her mind, but everything Doctor Frost said felt good and made sense.

“Good, well Miss Snow, I will schedule another session with you later.” She got up.

“Are you not forgetting something Doc?”

Elsa turned to her. “Will you sign the Guardianship documents because you feel safe here or because you feel you belong here?” Gina frowned. Elsa gave her the papers. “Read it over and think about my question, and no Miss Snow, no sex, no smoking, no drinking. Are we clear?”

Gina smiled. “Is that your medical, professional or motherly advice?”

She watched Elsa meticulously. “Perhaps in your case Miss Snow, all three my positions would apply, I have a problem with it. So, do we understand each other?”

“Can’t promise that Doc.”

Elsa shook her head. “Take care little Gina.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The spelling of both poems is as per the original Author.


	16. Like mother like daughter?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gina settles down and tries to make a family with Emma and Regina

**Chapter 16**

 

Neal came over later in the day; he and Gina were playing video games. She was kicking his ass, despite the fact that she only played the game a few times with Henry. He was talking nonstop, about everything. The food she still had to try, summer that was a few months away. His parents. Gina was following the conversation, playing the game and thinking about her session with Elsa.

 _Why did she call her that? Little Gina_? She needed to speak to Henry; she remembered him, saying strange things started to happen before the first curse broke. _Was her presence starting to make a difference, how long will it take before people began to realize, something was amiss_?  _To hold the world in a grain of sand_.

 

Upstairs in Regina’s bedroom, an entirely different conversation was taking place. They knew they should not have listened in on Gina’s session, but they had learned so much. Regina was crying her eyes out, her heart breaking for the woman holding her and for the girl downstairs. She grew up privileged. There was always enough to eat, a warm bed, hot showers. Things most people took for granted. Hearing that a converted parlor was her first private room with a bed all to herself, was too much for Regina. She knew what Emma had told her over the years that she too shared a bedroom most of the time. However, somehow the reality of it only penetrated her understanding now.

Regina was clinging to Emma; they cuddled together on top of the duvet. Emma did not know what to do, except giving Regina comfort by holding her.

“Em, can you help her? You know, through your experience?”

“Regina, she hardly accepts any help from me, physically. I would not even know how to tackle the emotional side.”

“But you do understand her, the anger she spoke about?” Emma sighed a deep sigh.

“Yes, that I do understand, her anger towards her mother, the neglect, and the abandonment. I now also understand why she and Neal had it out, but she was right. They did not deserve to land up in that position in the first place. They were too young, and whoever Gina’s mother is, I would gladly kill her myself for abandoning her child that way.” It was the first time Emma express a motherly concern for the kid since she moved in. Emma had her own tears, she knew her life was depraved, but for some reason, Gina just had it so much worse.

 

“I will try Regina somehow I would make it work with her.” They fell asleep holding each other. It had been a long time since anything like this happened between them. Emma held her tight; her mind still dazzled why she could not fully commit to the woman she loved.  _Gods, they were raising a child together again, that in itself was a huge commitment_.

 

Regina called Mary Margaret since Elsa said that Gina was healing well they decided to take her and Neal out to Granny’s. She asked Mary Margaret and David to join them. Family Regina thought. This would become Gina’s family if she allowed it. Regina asked Emma again to help with a little encouragement.

“Regina, I was twenty-eight when I met you, do you remember how long it took before I trusted anyone?”

“I know, but she is younger.” Her eyes were pleading.

“She also has much more reason not to trust or let anyone in. This is not a one-day job Regina, we both need to show her, that not only is she safe from us, but that we would protect her from others. I have a suspicion that is why she is so pissed at me; she thinks I am not protecting you that I am hurting you and she is right.” Regina walked up to her.

“I thought we talked about this? That I do understand.” Suddenly there were tears in Emma’s eyes. “How can you comprehend it, Gina, if I don’t even understand it?”

Regina was taken aback for a moment. Gina told her the same thing a few days ago about Emma. ”Emma is there something unresolved in your life?” Emma looked at her strangely.

“No, not as far as I know. I think I have dealt with my baggage.” Regina touched her face, wiped the tears. She looked at her with all the love she had. “Okay, just know that I am here if you need to talk.”

 

Gina looked at the people around her, they were all so different, yet their real personalities came through. She sat quietly between Emma and Regina. Neal opposite her, smiling as if this was his best day ever.

Henry would be home soon for winter break. The weather in Boston and Storybrook was getting colder by the day. He wanted to take Gina skating; he also wanted to show her the boathouse, but he promised Henry that he would wait. By the time winter break arrived, Gina would be on the mend for a month, and by spring break, it would almost be her birthday. He looked straight at her.

“When last did you celebrate your birthday?”

“Got a card last year.” She answered uncommitted.

“Just a card, no celebration?”

“Neal that is enough.” Mary Margaret told him off. She had seen Gina’s room. The two homemade cards, an old photo of Henry and Neal, and the puzzle box. That was all the personal items she had in her room. She had to admit to herself since the boys seemed to know her so well; her room in the boathouse was a lot more personal.

 

“But mom, everyone needs to celebrate….” He stopped. Mary Margaret could see that his hands were shaking. Some days he was still so young. He did not have Gina’s hardship or the extent of her abuse. All three woman wondered if someday, one of them would understand.

Neal swallowed before he looked up at Gina. His voice was soft. “I am sorry Gina.” She gave him a half smile. “No worries, Bro.” Everyone got very quiet, their thoughts on what Gina’s last birthday must have been like.

 

Gina decided that if the tension gets any higher, she might upset everyone more. She asked Emma if she could get up that she needed to go to the bathroom. Emma shifted out of the bunk seat and handed Gina her crutches.

“Need help Kid?” She shook her head.

“No thanks Sheriff.” Emma looked lost at Regina.

“Go after her. There is no way she is going to the bathroom.”

 

Emma shook her head, took her coat and made her way through to the back of Granny’s. In the summer, it was a beautiful place to sit at night, in the middle of winter, not so much. She found Gina in one of the corners that protected her from the gusting wind.

She was busy having a cigarette, and there was a half-jack of Jack Daniels on the table before her.  Emma picked up the Jack Daniels and had a good sip.

"I thought Regina spoke to you about this?” She indicated to the whiskey and the cigarette.

“She did, but I still have not signed my life away, so I am still within my legal rights Sheriff.”

Emma laughed. “You certainly are one smart kid.” She got completely serious.

“Gina, is that how you feel, that you would be signing your freedom away?”

Gina gave her a small smile. She dragged on the last of her cigarette, killing it and took a good long drink of the whiskey. She offered the open bottle to Emma.

“I am turning sixteen and the only person in the last ten years that told me to do something and I actually did it without questioning him was Eoin. I understand what you and the Mayor are doing Sheriff, what I do not understand is why you would want to raise someone like me? There was a great sadness in her voice.

Emma understood a lifetime of breaking down a character, a personality her individualism, but the worst of all abuse, without question, was breaking down a kid’s dreams, hopes and above all their self-worth.  Emma remembered her own downfalls. Her shattered dreams. When Neal Cassidy told her that she was beautiful and smart, she wanted to believe him so much.

However, Cloe Fox the Bounty Hunter who tracked her down, finally gave her what she lacked.  _“Can I give you a piece of advice? You got to learn how to protect yourself.”_

Therefore, she built up her armor and walls. Then, just before she died,  _“You are holding on too tight, Emma let go, let it go.”_ _Cloe’s voice echoed in her mind_ _._

Still, she never did, she kept on looking for a place to belong, where she could be herself, and when she finally found it in the arms of Regina Mills, she had no idea what to do, so she sabotaged it.

The explanation Elsa gave Gina, she understood. Feeling and accepting the negative emotions she could do, however, accepting that some loved you with all your faults and trusted you completely? How do you accept that?

Therefore, she continued to hide behind her façade of self-assured confidence all wrapped up in her red leather jacket. She was someone that could accomplish anything with that jacket on. Gina was younger than Emma was, when she met Cloe, but Gina already had her armor and her walls and most definitely, the façade of self-assured confidence all wrapped up in her black leather.  _Would she ever be able to help? Even just a little_?

“Therefore Sheriff, you and the Mayor need to comprehend that I have never answered to anyone, for most of my life.” Gina continued.

Emma nodded. “I felt the same when I came here. I had been on my own since I got released from prison just before I turned eighteen.”

“What! Back up there, you were in prison? For what?”

“Possession of stolen goods.”

“Please tell me you were set up?”

Emma smiled.

“I was set up by Henry’s father, he had a good reason for it, and we made up later, but yes, got eleven months.” Gina laughed, she would have never believed it.

“In fact, you broke my other incarceration record.” Gina turned her head, her eyebrow lifted, waiting to hear this story. “Yep, I was in Storybrook for six hours before I was arrested for drunken driving and damage to town property. You were here less than three hours!”

“Yeah, but I was not arrested, you only kept me overnight.” Gina had a smug smile on her face. She actually had never heard this story.

“Gina, did you know I was dropped next to the highway as a baby?” Gina took another swig from the Jack, leaving Emma the last sip.

“So what are we doing Sheriff, deciding who had more shitty parents or which one of us is the most delinquent?” Emma swallowed the last of the bottle.

“Perhaps I am trying to do two things, letting you know that I understand your fucked up life, mine might not have been as bad, but I do understand.”

“What is the other thing?”

“I found something here that I was not looking for any longer.” Gina turned her head, thinking of what it might be she shrugged her shoulders. Emma took a step closer, and this time Gina did not pull away.

“I found a family, not only Henry, the people there, in Granny’s, they are my friends and my family.” Gina took a while to process the information.

“So? What you are trying to tell me is that the Guardianship, it is not about taking my freedom away, it is about giving me a chance at a real family?”

“Knew you were bright Kid.” Emma gave her a warm smile. “I better get you inside, before Regina

kills me.”

“She is going to kill you anyway.”

“How so?”

“Do you think that Miss Charnel Nr.5 is not going to smell that I smoked, or realize that I am slightly tipsy?” She giggled. “Just tell her we bonded, she will forgive you.” She was about to walk back in when she turned to Emma. “Which is something you should do yourself.”  
“What?” Emma asked confused. “Forgive yourself, Sheriff.”

Gina walked back to their table; she gave Neal and Mary Margaret a reassuring smile. When she took her seat next to Regina, as predicted Regina turned to her and then looked at a guilty Emma that was still standing.

“We were bonding Mayor.”

“I thought we spoke about this?”

“We did.” Regina gave her a stern look. “I am moderating.” Emma giggled, she sure was, and from a bottle to a half-jack was a huge improvement.

“And you, you are sleeping on the couch tonight!” This time Gina giggled.

 

Regina ordered coffee for all of them, Gina declined. She liked sleeping well. The Jack was a backup plan, in case Doctor Elsa’s visit and questions brought the nightmares back. She knew she would sleep tonight, from the whiskey and the night out, it was something else, and she enjoyed it, but it also left her drained.

After coffee, Regina paid the bill, and it was hugs all around. Granny and Ruby included. Gina mostly watched she still did not like it when people hugged her. Ruby did kiss her on the cheek, and so did Mary Margaret. Neal spoke to her a while alone, all three _mother_ s watching them again, they did not understand the kiss between the two.

Neal held her. She placed a full-lipped kiss on his mouth, then she gently touched his face where there were yellow and purple bruises. She told him that she loved him and he said it back, giving her another quick kiss. They were still talking when Mary Margaret came over to Regina.

“I don’t know how I feel about this?” Regina looked at her.

“I’m still trying to figure out what this is!”

“So it is not something we need to worry about right now?”

“No,” Regina said in a stern voice. “We need to start worrying when she turns sixteen, which is in about six weeks.”

“Oh, dear gods!”

“My sentiment exactly Mary Margaret!”

 

Gina fell asleep in the car on the way back home. Emma carried her in,  Regina got her bed ready and took out some sleepwear. They both looked at each other for a moment. “I will dress her,” Emma said.

“No, I will help you.” Regina has seen the scars on the young body, but Emma had only read a report about it. She was shocked to the extent of the abuse. Emotionally Emma did not prepare for that and the tears flowed slowly over her cheeks as she touched some of the bruises. She did not even want to think about what happened to her in prison.

“I am sorry Emma; I should have realized that you have not seen the scars yet.” She reached out to Emma, this time it was Regina doing the comforting. She had a notion in the back of her mind that she was crazy, but she led Emma upstairs and told her to come and sleep in the main bedroom. Like earlier that day, they held each other tight, Emma crying at all of Gina’s loss, as well as her own.

 

Gina got up her usual time. She managed far better with the crutches now. Her bicep was starting to heal nicely, and she was hoping that Doctor Elsa would take out the stitches this week. She was itching to start exercising again.

She took the time in the mornings before Emma and Regina got up to connect to Merlin and try some healing meditation. It helped a lot with the pain, and she was sure the healing too. She was not planning to stay in bed for six weeks. She started to do little things around the house, washing her bike, doing some laundry. Small things she usually did. Routine and some normality, but for the most part she was bored out of her mind. She felt piled up energy, and she was sleeping more than usual and without any nightmares. She needed to do something.

By half past six she started to make coffee and started breakfast, she knew Regina would be up first. Gina made sure her coffee was hot and ready. She was wearing silk long sleeve top and pants pajamas now. Emma was in flannel. As Gina started with an omelet, Regina came down. She smiled at the girl and kissed her on her head. Regina’s affection was becoming a habit between them. “Good morning.”

Regina gave her a sleepy smile as Gina placed the coffee in front of her.

“Morning Honey, slept okay.”

“Yes, thank you, it has been more than two weeks Mayor.”

“What has been more than two weeks?”

“That I had a nightmare.” Regina looked at her.

“Do you feel safe here with us?”

“Yeah, I do.” She went back to the omelet, turning it. Regina’s breakfast was oil-free, salt-free and the omelet mostly had spices and a little mozzarella cheese. It was very opposite from what Emma ate. She dished up for Regina

“Hmm, you did something different.”

“Do you like it?”

“Very much.” Gina smiled, pleased with herself.

“I put in a tad of organum.”

“Where did you learn to cook?”

“Just picked it up. Sometimes I was the oldest in a foster home, so I cooked for the smaller kids.”

Regina decided to change the subject. “What would you like to do for your birthday?” She saw Gina go stiff. Her back was to Regina, while she was busy preparing Emma’s breakfast; she knew the Sheriff would be down soon.

“You asked a question she does not have an answer to,” Emma told Regina and plonked down on a stool. While Regina always looked ready to go out, Emma seemed ready to go to bed again. Gina turned and gave her, her cocoa. “Good morning Sheriff.”

“And what is so damn good about it?” Gina smiled; she was very grateful for Emma’s intervention to Regina’s question.

 

Regina looked back at Emma, and she indicated with her head towards Gina. Emma caught on. “So Kid, you wanna go to Granny's with Neal for your birthday?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Regina looked at Emma; Emma gave her a  _what_  look? Regina just rolled her eyes. In addition, indicated with her hands to carry on. Emma cleared her throat.

“Or, there is a Justin Bieber concert in Port Land in two months’ time?”

Gina turned to her. She had her  _are you fucking serious_  face on. Emma swallowed.

“Well, I don’t know what you like to listen to?” Sometimes while she was reading, she would listen to music on her cell; it kept her mind from going to dark places. Gina slid her phone that was on the counter over to the two women. Emma unlocked the phone and scrolled to the music. To say that they were surprised at her music collection was an understatement.

“These are all late seventies and eighties rock and metal?”

“And Roxette?” Regina added it seemed an odd choice in relation to all the other music.

Gina shook her head and took the phone back.

“I also know the words to every Irish drinking song, Beatles, Bee Gees, Elvis, and Country. What the hell did you think I listened to? I grew up with men that did Metallica, Guns 'n Roses, Ozzie.

Roxette was Tommy’s favored, and he only played it when we were alone in the shop, he would do the books, and I would be cleaning up after the day’s work.”

Regina’s mind was trying to keep up. They did not even know simple things like her taste in music. They were planning to raise her, if only for two years. She swallowed. “What about something more sophisticated?”

“Yes, Madam Mayor, I do listen to Classical and Opera as well. That was one of the things Eoin taught me to appreciate.”

“Eoin Cavan introduced you to Classical music?” Emma asked with raised eyebrows.  
“Sure, he took me to my first Opera when I was about twelve. La Traviata totally loved it.”  
“Dear gods, and just when I think we get to know you a little, you threw us a curveball.” Regina smiled.  
Gina smiled. “No Mayor, you will know when I pitched the curveball.”

Regina looked up at the ceiling. “Will we survive it?” Gina pulled a face as if she was thinking about it. “Maybe.”

 

They fell into a routine. Gina would make breakfast, Emma and then Regina would go to work. Regina would come to check in on her before lunch, Emma would pop in after lunch, and every few days Doctor Elsa would come after school. Neal was in and out frequently.

Regina was packing up her briefcase one morning when over her coffee cup Gina told her not to forget the document on the coffee table. Regina frowned. She was very precise with her work; she would never leave a paper on the coffee table. She walked through to the lounge and picked up the four-page or so document, through her irritation she did not look at it, she just picked it up.

When she returned to the kitchen, Gina was still sitting there, drinking her coffee calmly. Regina placed the document in the briefcase. As she did, she saw what it was. Her hands started to shake as she turned to the last page. It was signed, the illegible scribble of Gina’s signature on the line that indicated – Minor.

Regina stood with the paper in her hands there were tears in her eyes. She took out her silver pen and signed on the line indicating Guardian. Elsa already signed the document as well. She turned the page over again. Her voice was thick when she spoke.

“I will have Emma sign it today, and I will file it with Social Services.”

“Great,” Gina said enthusiastically. “I will be at the Rabbit Hole the entire day, making up for the next five years of abstinence. You know, before everything is official.”

 

Regina looked at her, tears and a smile mixed with something else in her eyes that Gina did not understand. “I will ground you for the next five years if I find you there young lady.” She tried to say it in her Mayor's voice but failed miserably. Gina got up from where she was leaning against the breakfast nook and made her way to Regina on the other side.

Regina looked confused for a moment then Gina just walked into her, placing her arms around the older woman’s waist. Regina immediately pulled her into a hug. It was the first time Gina of her own volitions displayed any affection towards either of them. Gina was almost as tall as Emma was, but in her heels, Regina matched her height. She held on for as long as Gina allowed the contact and then she placed a kiss on her forehead.

 

Gina pulled back, her eyes teared up, but she was not crying the way Regina was.

“Thank you, Mayor. I still do not understand why you are doing this, but thank you.” She kissed Regina on the cheek, wiped her eyes and told Regina that she was going to be late. She nodded and disappeared through the front door with one last wave.

 

Gina was reading in her room when she heard a knock at the door; she looked at her watch and wondered who it could be? No one was supposed to come around this time of the day. She made her way to the door, and when she opened it, she held her breath.

Before her stood a gorgeous girl with ice blue eyes and white cropped, devilish hair. Some of the hair fell over her left eye, and Gina wanted to wipe it out of her face to see those penetrating blue eyes. Gina had no idea how long they stood there, looking at each other. The girl spoke, her voice was soft and soothing like slow flowing water.

Gina’s mind so tangled with the girl’s voice and looks that she hardly heard what she said. She shook her head lightly to get rid of the fuzziness.  _Goddamn, she has seen beautiful women in her life, but this young lady was absolutely breathtaking_.

 

“I apologize; I did not hear what you said.”

The girl gave her a shy smile and tugged one of the stray hairs behind her ear, looking down slightly embarrassed. The move and the shyness leaped into Gina’s heart, and her tummy did several summersaults.

The girl, accustomed to people reacting to her this way. She was often told how beautiful she was and the first introduction turned out like this more often than not, it was rare however to get this reaction from another girl. Most of the girls at school avoided her or were openly nasty and jealous.

“I’m Jaden.” Gina held out her hand to greet her and was instantly sorry. She had long slender fingers, and her handshake was firm, but her hands were soft and comforting. Gina wanted to slap herself. “Gina.” Her voice was a little more husky, and Jaden found it very sexy.

“I will be in your class when you start school.” Gina, all of a sudden, remembered her manners. “Would you like to come in?” Her award, a smile. Something about the girl seemed familiar; Gina just could not place it. She was not someone Gina knew from the Enchanted Forest.

“Thank you.” Jaden walked past her and Gina thought she might die if she had to listen to that voice for too long. She already felt the wetness in her shorts.

 

Jaden stood at the front entrance. She had been here many times. She wondered in which direction Gina would take her. “Would you like something to drink?” Her eyes met Gina’s, and she had to hold her breath again.

“I hear you make a mean cappuccino?” Gina frowned and questioned the remark silently with a turn of her head. Jaden never let up on the look. “My mother, Elsa Frost told me.”

 _Oh fuck,_  Gina thought as if her life was not complicated enough she had an instant attraction to her Shrink’s daughter. Then she realized why the girl looked familiar, she looked a lot like her mother, but if it was possible, she was even more striking than her mother.

 

“Cool,” Gina said softer and huskier. “Do you have it the way your mom does?” Jaden nodded, and Gina set off to the kitchen asking Jaden to join her. Gina set out to make the coffee for both of them, she handed Jaden her cup and asked her if she would like to go and sit in the lounge. “Sure.” Jaden was carrying a backpack that looked hefty.

“Can I carry that for you?” Jaden, a little taken aback. She looked into the green eyes with the silver specks.

“Thank you.” Gina took the pack, and they made their way to the lounge. She observed that Jaden knew this house; she took the seat in one of the sunny spots on the large couch. Gina placed her bag next to her. She received another smile. Gina made her way over to the far end of the room on the couch away from Jaden. It amused the girl.

Like her mother, she liked studying people; so far, Gina was very different from the way her mother described this girl.

“I would like you to sit here? I need to show you a few things, and should you not be still walking with your crutches?”

 _Oh fuck, I am in so much trouble_. The thought ran through Gina’s mind again.

“Like mother like daughter?”

“Not quite.” A challenge Gina thought, fine, she would give the girl that. She reluctantly took the space next to Jaden, keeping a safe, respectful distance. Jaden drank her coffee. She closed her eyes. “Damn, mom was right; you are going to put Granny out of business with this coffee.”  
Gina blushed at the compliment.

“What else did your mother tell you about me?” There was no fear or accusation in the question. Jaden smiled, it meant that she trusted her mother.

“She told me that you are brilliant and the single most stubborn teen she ever had to deal with.” Gina laughed. “And here I thought I was a good little patient.”

“If you were, you would still be using your crutches.” Gina gave her an amusing look. She liked this girl instantly, attraction aside, she found Jaden open and honest.

 

“So Miss Frost what brings you here today?” Jaden enjoyed the way this girl made her feel, but then again, what was the chances that they would even become friends. Jaden was alone, for several reasons, her looks being just one of them.

“Homework.”  
“Homework? And here I thought I made a good impression, why the punishment Miss Frost?” Jaden gave her one of those pensive stares again with the melting blue eyes.

“I am not too sure about the good impression Miss Snow, good cappuccino, but you stared at my butt way too long.”

The sides of Gina’s mouth curled into a smile, her eyes bright.  _Well, she does not seem to be too upset._

“Noted, I will behave better next time.” Jaden’s breathing was a little faster than usual.  _Oh, please don’t_! Her mind screamed. She swallowed and placed her cup on the side table. She took out a bunch of books. One for each subject Gina chose for school.

“I apologize, they are secondhand, but I picked them out myself, they are the best of the bunch.”

“Thank you, that was very thoughtful.” She gave Gina some empty hardcover notebooks. One for each subject. She also took out several pages of copied assignments.

“Mom kind of asked me to bring you up to speed, making up for the semester you have missed.” Gina nodded, Elsa already explained that to her. “When you feel ready, you will have to write an exam to get a mid-term mark. I…” She stuttered, which seemed so unlike her. Gina gave her an encouraging smile. Jaden just gave up she hated this part. “I will be here to tutor you.”

 

Gina looked at her amused again. She knew she would not need a tutor and that most of the assignments will be complete before she went to school, which would be after the winter break.  
“I would love to spend more time with you, thank you it will be beneficial to have a tutor.” Jaden swallowed hard. _Freaking hell!_  Her mother described this girl as angry and hurt and asked her daughter to be gentle! She was nothing like that! This girl was calm and charming and goddamn irresistible. Jaden could not say that she had ever been in love or even had a crush. She found most boys too childish, none of them could match her intelligence. Her mind did not want to comprehend what she thought, but they have only been together half an hour. She could just be silly.

“Would you like to start today?” Jaden asked, and Gina tried to bring her breath under control. “Sure, I would like that.”

They had several subjects which overlapped, and they started with those. Math, science, biology. Within an hour, the two of them were doing advanced Algebra in French.

Jaden was in awe, she had never met anyone, except for her mother that could keep up with her mind, her train of thought. Gina seemed to do it with minimal effort.

By the time Regina got home, they were in a deep discussion about politics, this time their language of choice was Spanish. Regina’s Spanish and French were both excellent, but in listening to the conversation, she frowned at some of the words Gina would use.   
“Hello.” She said, feeling like she intruded. As she peeked around the corner.

Jaden jumped up and hugged Regina. “Auntie Regina, I am so happy to see you again.” She pointed to Gina.

“We have been studying, and did you know she spoke four languages?” Gina wanted to add five, but who the hell spoke Sumerian?

“I did not know that.” She looked over to Gina. “Full of surprises today Miss Snow?”

“Have to keep you on your toes Mayor.”

“Indeed.” Regina smiled at her. “Not to be rude though, your Spanish is a little off.”

Jaden picked up the same thing. She corrected Gina where she could. She spoke it fluently, but it was not European Spanish. Some word were Mexican, some she was sure was Argentinian.  
Regina instantly felt the young girl’s mood change.

“Perhaps it is enough for today Jaden?” Regina suggested.

Jaden turned back; Gina’s entire body language had changed.

“Okay.” She said unsurely.

“Would you like me to come by tomorrow?”

“Yes, thank you; that would be kind, your help today is truly appreciated.” She was stiff and formal. A wall went up that was not there all afternoon, Jaden wondered if it had something to do with Regina’s presence, but Regina had left, putting her briefcase in her study before she started cooking.

Jaden thought that she should take a chance, she felt the connection between them and all of a sudden, it was gone. “Gina, did I say something wrong?”

Gina knew that her issues were not the girl’s fault. She had the opportunity to make a friend or to destroy a possible friendship.

“Jaden has your mom warned you against me?”

“Warned me?”

“Did she tell you to be careful because I might be dangerous?”

“No!” This time Jaden was upset. “My mother never discusses her patients or school-related issues with me, not only would it be unethical, it diminishes her character by implying that!”  
“I am sorry, I did not mean to offend you and you need to understand that I have the utmost respect for your mother. She is the first psychologist I have dealt with that want to help me. You need to understand that I come from a different background than you.”  
“You mean the fact that you are adopted?”

Gina gave her a small smile. Therefore, it was official.

“No.” Her mouth went dry. “The fact that I grew up on the streets.”

“Oh, that is the reason your Spanish is so strange? You learned it from all over the place?”  
At that exact moment, Gina felt that there was no god.

“No Jaden, I learned my Spanish somewhere else.”

Jaden gave her that questioning stare again. Then the bright blue eyes lit up, with a smile to add. “Alright, you can tell me the story when you are ready.” Gina breathed again.

“You may not want to hear it, but thank you.”

 

Jaden packed up all her stuff, and Gina carried her bag for her again. Jaden popped her head into the kitchen and said goodbye to Regina.

“Thank you again and see you tomorrow?”

She received a special smile. “Cool, see ya.”

Gina closed the door, and she wanted to bang her head against it until she would stop thinking. Regina found her with her head and her hands leaning against the door.

“It’s alright Honey, just breathe.” Regina was rubbing her back. She felt extremely guilty. She did not think of where Gina learned her Spanish.

“I am sorry Honey, I did not think, I should not have said anything.” Gina felt the anger subside with the soothing motion of Regina’s hand at her back.

“It is not your fault.” Regina pulled her back, and the young girl did not resist. Regina held her in her arms and kept on rubbing her back. After a while, she pulled back to look at her girl. The thought made her smile. Gina was officially her responsibility now. “Will you be alright?” Gina nodded and made her way to her room.

Regina sighed and went back to the kitchen. She was planning a special dinner to celebrate their, official family.


	17. One very sorry looking tree out there

**Chapter 17**

 

A few blocks away from 108 Mifflin Street, Jaden let herself into the house. She closed the front door, leaning back against it with a big smile on her face. She had to admit that she was not too sure what the feelings were, but she felt light. Not only was it unusual for her to make friends, this one just made her feel, unique.

Elsa heard her daughter come in, but when she did not come to greet her mother, she went to look for her. What she saw made her uneasy and extremely happy at the same time.

“Hello Love, how was your day.”

Jaden gave her a smirk. “Yeah right mom, like you cannot see that I had a great day.” She kissed her mother on the cheek and went to her bedroom, thinking of the unusual friend she met today.

 

Gina’s reaction to everything was a bit different. She sat in her room for a long time. W _as her past going to haunt her forever?_  So many aspects of her life, which perhaps were normal in other people’s lives, she had an absolute incapability to explain, and now that she had her, memories back, it made it harder. She knew where the tattoos and scars came from. She remembered why she had the awful confusing nightmares. She knew why she did not trust people, and she knew why it was so hard to love. For the most part, the memory loss was her scapegoat. However, Storybrook changed everything.

 

Things like what happened with Neal about her birthday and today with the Spanish, situations like that were going to happen all the time.  _How do you start a relationship with anyone without telling him or her the truth?_  Emma and Regina asked about the nightmares, Emma already knew that it was memories. Elsa asked and if she let it out, tell Neal or Henry everything all that they would want to do would be to break the curse.

The tears fell in silent. She needed to get this out, this sorrow, this anger; she needed to release it somehow. She got up and sneaked into the garage. She knew the moment she opened the automatic door that Regina would hear it and try to stop her. She got her bike ready; she pushed it right up to the door. All her stitches were out, and she did not care if the effort tore open every last wound. The physical pain was always more comfortable to carry than the emotional pain. She pushed the button for the garage and at the same time started the engine of the powerful bike. She zipped out as fast as she could, but as she knew, Regina was on the street watching her drive off her scream so loud that not even the sound of the engine of the bike could help Gina from hearing it.

“GINA!!!”

 

Regina ran inside and grabbed her phone she speed-dialed, Emma. Emma smiled when she saw the caller ID; they had a good few days, and today was special, for all three of them.

“Hello Madam Mayor” She answered in her seductive voice.

“Emma! It’s Gina, she got upset earlier, and it was entirely my fault, and now she got onto that bike of hers and raced away.” Emma clicked her fingers to get David’s attention. While asking Regina more questions she wrote David a note, _BOLO on Gina, bike now!_

 

David got on his cell called the all officers group, and as they one by one joined the conference call, he informed them of what has happened.

“Remember that she is armed and dangerous, do not approach, call the Sheriff with her location and watch the borders, she might run away again.”

Emma grabbed her gun and her jacket and got into one of the cruisers. She sent David to block off the road out of Storybrook, just in case. She switched one of her apps on the Sheriff system on and transmitted it to everyone, only to realize where the address was. The Sheriff canceled the transition. She banged her hand on the steering wheel.

“Damn, she left her phone at home.” Her next call was to Mary Margaret. “Is Gina there?”

“No, what is going on Emma?”

“Regina says she got upset and took off on her motorcycle.” Mary Margaret caught her breath. “Emma if she lands up here, I will call you.” The phone went dead. She called Ruby. Same story, same promise. Emma came to a screechy stop in front of the Rabbit Hole. She was not there. She drove to Aesop's, nothing.

 

She started to patrol, the way she would do on night runs. She killed the sirens by now to listen for the powerful engine of the bike. It was as if a dead silence met her. She drove around for two hours, keeping a hysterical Regina up to date. Regina was making her own calls without any answers.

 

Emma almost missed it, it was dark now, the bike was dark, the rider was most likely dark, but she saw something in the very last placed she thought to look. Emma stopped the car and walked over to where she thought she had seen something in the cemetery. The closer she got to the point, the more she knew precisely where Gina was, and her anger boiled over.

She found her sitting in front of Killian’s grave. She pulled her up with extreme violence.

“How the fuck dare you?” She had a combat vest on and one of the torches on her shoulder shined into Gina’s eyes. Emma saw that she had been crying. The anger was pulsing through Emma.

“How dare you come here?” Gina could not speak, even if she tried. Her voice was so thick with all the crying.  _Did she come here, why?_  She had no idea, but she sat by Killian’s grave and told him everything. Every secret, every bit of pain. All of her fears, and then she cried. She cried all the pain out; she just wanted to leave everything behind. Burry it here with him.

The past, the memories and all the secrets that she kept. Emma was still yelling, but Gina did not hear anything. She was emotionally too numb and physically drained. Emma grabbed her by the shoulders. She looked into the young face. She saw it, the terrible burden. It was not her past. It was not the pain, it was something much worse. Emma pulled her into her arms, and Gina just rested her head against her chest and shook in Emma’s arms as she started to cry again. Emma had no idea how long they stood there.

 

She felt that Gina was cold and Emma picked her up, and there was no reluctance, no resistance. She just held onto Emma as if she was her last lifeline. Emma place her in the cruiser, called Regina and told her that she found her and that she is bringing her home. She made the call to all her Officers to call off the BOLO and asked Thomas, to please go with Frederik to pick up the bike and bring it to Regina’s home.

She buckled Gina in, and they drove off. Gina had not said one word. When they stopped in front of the mansion, an angry, upset Regina came storming out. Before Emma could warn her or calm her down, she had the cruiser door open ready to give her girl a piece of her mind, when she saw her face. Gina did not even look up. Emma came around and lifted the girl into her arms.

“I am taking her upstairs; she should not be alone tonight.”

Regina said nothing, she just closed the door behind them, went to get Gina some flannels for a night’s sleep.

 

When she came upstairs, she saw Emma already undressing her and Regina started to help put the pajamas on. They both noticed her hands at the same time. Regina inhaled. Emma swallowed hard. She was their baby girl now. The formality of a piece of paper had changed nothing. It has been happening over the last month since Gina had been staying with them. They slowly became a family, and as her mothers, any hurt was now so much worse.

“Get the first aid box and ask Elsa if she would come over?” Regina nodded and wiped a tear from her face. Emma was busy cleaning the wounds. She was trying to figure out if Gina broke any of her fingers, but as she pulled them gently at different angles, Gina did not even flinch. Emma knew it must hurt, but there was no reaction.

“Honey?” Gina’s eyes filled with tears all over again and she turned her face from Emma.  _Gods_ , Emma thought,  _care and affection broke her heart and hitting her hands broken against something did not even made her flinch_. She tried again.

“Come on little Gina? Please look at me?” This time Gina lifted her face and looked at Emma differently, her lip was quivering and the tears well up all the time before they fell over her cheeks. Emma wiped them.

“Honey you need to tell me where it is sore.” She took Emma’s hand and placed it over her heart. Emma’s own tears made its way down her face. Regina walked in on the two sitting like that. She felt like she was intruding. Gina turned to her, she tried to speak, but when nothing came out, both women looked at each other. Regina came to sit next to her, holding her one hand while Emma continued to clean the other one.

“Did you hit something?” She got a nod. Emma spoke up.

“From the marks and the dirt, I would guess there is one very sorry looking tree out there.” Gina gave her a faint smile. Regina tried again, "and your voice, did you scream again?” No, Gina indicated.

At that moment, they heard Elsa calling from the front entrance. “We are in the main bedroom.” Elsa made her way up; she could not tell who of the three looked more miserable.

“Alright, can you two please give me a moment with her?” They were both ready to protest when Elsa looked at them, “It was not a request! And no offense, but I think we can all do with an Irish coffee, little Gina included.” Gina closed her eyes again, and a single tear made its way down her cheek. Emma noticed. Something about the nickname, evoking different feelings from Gina.

 

Emma and Regina went to the kitchen to make the coffee. The moment they were alone, they held each other. Giving each other the comfort and reassurance, they both needed.

Elsa looked Gina’s hands over; she did a number on them. She felt her ring finger on her left hand. “This will hurt.” Gina was sure that she pulled extra hard to make her point and the Doctor got a grunt when she placed the dislocated finger back. She continued to examine the hands; she pressed a spot on her right one and got a deep intake of breath. “Sore?” Gina nodded. She pushed down on the spot without warning Gina and something popped in place. She received a louder grunt this time.

“A thank you; Doctor Elsa would do?” Gina gave her a small smile and tapped on her vocal cords. “Okay, open up, let me see?” Gina opened her mouth and Elsa shown an otoscope to look down her throat. “Hmm, I need to get a Laryngoscope in there to have a better look, and it would be wise to have your hands x-rayed, I might have missed something. Were you screaming again?” Gina shook her head. “Then what caused the damage to your vocals?” Gina wiped a tear. “Crying?” A nod as an answer.

Elsa was upset. “How long did you cry for?” Gina held up three fingers. “Three. You cried for three hours?” Gina pressed her lips together as if that was a regular thing for any person.

I will speak to your moms about a visit tomorrow morning.” She sighed. “What brought this on Gina?”  


“The pain is too much.” The raspy whisper came out.

“Do you need me to give you some local anesthetic?” Gina smiled and shook her head no. She placed her hand on her heart. Elsa’s eyes looked at her seriously.

“Gina, that kind of pain will only heal in time, and only if you start to trust someone with your secrets. I know you keep things from your mothers, but you also keep things from me. I cannot help you through the pain if you do not allow me to look at it. You are not protecting other people; you are hurting yourself, this,” She pointed to Gina’s hands. “This is self-mutilation, like cutting yourself, to feel anything other than the pain you are in. This Gina could land you up in the mental ward in the hospital.” Gina’s eyes went wide, and Elsa placed a hand on her knee. “You are my patient, and I will not allow that, do you hear me?” Gina nodded, grateful.

“There is something else I want to talk to you about.”  _Oh, gods here comes the, you cannot date my daughter speech. “_ You got upset with Jaden today?” Gina indicated no. “With Regina?” No again, Elsa frowned. “My past.” Gina got out. She thought about what her daughter told her, and she also remembered her face while she was speaking of Gina.

 Elsa eventually placed all the pieces together. “You learned Spanish in prison. That is why it is not a pure Spanish?” Gina nodded her head. “And you do not want to tell Jaden about your past?”  
Gina looked heartbroken at her. “I understand, and I promise, she will never hear it from me.” Gina smiled her thanks. “There is one more thing.”  _Okay, here comes the speech. “_ Jaden describes you very different from my initial assessment. We will talk about it as soon as you can?” Gina nodded. “Good girl.” Elsa padded her leg and got up to open the door. “We are done here,” she yelled down to the two anxious mothers. As instructed, they brought four coffees up. They handed Gina the black coffee with a good shot of whiskey. Elsa smelled hers and started drinking it with a smile.

 

She sat on the edge of the bed, well aware that Gina was still awake and listening. “It seems our girl has a moral issue. We all found out about her past through our official positions. Neal knew her and appeared to know some of her past through Henry. That is it. She is trying to start a new life, make a new beginning, which began with the two of you, accepting her.” Elsa drank some more coffee. “She will start school soon. There will be teachers and other children that know nothing about her. She might prefer to shower alone after track, for instance, to hide her scars. Other girls will not understand that. Do you see where I am going?”

Regina and Emma nodded. Elsa sighed. “Today was to try and rid herself of that pain, that past and that guilt. She only wants to be a regular kid, but her past keeps on haunting her. Both consciously and subconsciously.” Elsa got up. “I will be at the hospital before school starts. You need to bring her in, I need to take a look at what she did with her voice again, and even though I think, I reset all the bones in her hand in the right places, we need to still x-ray it.”

Regina and Emma went downstairs to see Elsa off. “Thank you for coming.” She looked at them. “There is something more.” They both held their breaths. “She…” Elsa had a small frown. “She is holding onto something, not her past or pain, more like a secret. It is a heavy burden she has, and until she let go of that, I don’t know… I don’t know how much emotional healing will take place.”

“What does she need?”

“She needs to talk to someone, and the only way that will ever happen is if she trusts someone. So far I can think of four people that she apparently does not trust.”

They both understood. The three women and Neal. They were the only people Gina had constant contact with. They walked back arm in arm, locked up and made their way back to the bedroom. Gina was fast asleep in the middle of the bed. She looked smaller and fragile, Emma thought. They both got her into bed, and after undressing and getting ready, they both took up space on either side of their girl.

 

Gina woke slightly. She thought she must still be dreaming. It was a pleasant dream though. Her mind worked through the grogginess.  _Pleasant dreams_? No, she did not have those. She tried to sense what the difference was. She was warm, and someone was holding her, protectively. She opened her eyes and closed them immediately. It was still dark, but she could feel the stinging in her eyes anyway. L _ast night, gods, she went to Killian and told him everything. Was that the reason why she was feeling better and protected?_  She opened her eyes again, and with the limited light from the street lamps, she could make out that she was in Regina’s bedroom. She went stiff for a moment.  _Regina’s bedroom?_  She tried to sit up, and someone pulled her even closer towards her. She turned to look.

It was Regina, and her shoulder length hair sprayed over the pillow and Gina. Her head nuzzled between her pillow and Gina’s shoulder. Her arm was holding Gina warm and safe against her spooned body. On the other side was Emma. She was facing Gina, and her arm was over both of them as if she tried to keep them both safe and close.

 

Gina took a moment to look at Emma. Her face was relaxed, the beautiful long blond mane everywhere. Gina reached out to slide a stray strand of hair from behind her ear, it opened up her face, and Gina just lay there watching her. She felt her eyes stinging with tears again.  _Emma_.

Gina felt the pain inside her stir. She lay back between the two women, enjoying the moment of their warmth and tenderness. It was so rare that Gina felt it was alright to soak it up for a little while longer. Her mind wandered to a time and a place long ago, when she would swing on Killian’s hook while he looked on with his charming smile. Most kids were scared of his hook, but not Gina. She would swing on it, pull him on it, to show him all the new things she discovered that day. Some days Emma would join them, laughing with them, which was rare for Emma or anyone that lived in the White Kingdom during that time. Regina would be there most days. She taught Gina other things, how to dance, how to write, her very first memories of Regina was the Queen reading to the toddler at night before she went to sleep. Everything seemed so straightforward and exciting; there were all these ideal people around her to make her constantly feel what she was feeling right now. Save, loved, protected.

 

She untangled herself from both women and slid out of bed through the bottom, at the loss of warmth the two women gravitated towards each other and Gina smiled. Together, that was how it always was, and hopefully always would be. She looked at them for a while. She wished that they would remember, every time one of them gave up everything to save the other, their story was legendary and one of the stories she most liked to read as a child. It was the first story she read when Henry gave her the storybook. She wiped a tear and made her way down to the kitchen.

 

It was late, much later than what they would usually sleep in. Regina sat up, looking at the clock, nine!  _Gods they overslept terribly_ , she shook Emma awake, wondering for a moment where Gina was. “What?”

“Emma it is past nine, we were supposed to take Gina to the hospital!”

Emma sat up. “Where is she?” They both got out of bed and made their way to the kitchen, it was empty, just before panic took over Emma, saw the note on the fridge.

 _Typical_! She thought,  _can't use a post-it-note like regular people_. She pointed the scribble out to Regina. Gina used about half of the fridge for her message. Written with a nonpermanent marker, she knew Regina would have a cadenza either way.

 

“You looked too cute to wake, took the bike, with Elsa and then Granny’s, need kick-ass coffee.”

Regina rolled her tongue on the side of her cheek. She slid one finger over the writing. It came off. Emma was looking at her with an amused smile.

“It is not funny Miss Swan!” The smile did not wade, she walked over to Regina, swiping her hair back from her face and she placed a tender kiss on the perfect mouth. Regina swallowed. It was the first time that Emma made the first move, it was not sexual, but at least it was something. Emma’s hand stayed on Regina’s beautiful face.

“Are you alright? I mean after last night? You were upset and worried.” The concern Emma showed touched Regina deep inside. She inhaled.

“I kept on thinking about what Elsa said. We only started this new family, and I already feel like I failed her.” Emma took her into an embrace. She nuzzled her face into Regina's neck. She felt the emotions emerge in her.  _What would I ever do without her?_  Emma wondered _. S_ he also thought about the night before _. Gina crying on Killian’s grave, why Killian?_ She needed to have a good talk with the kid.

 

They were having coffee when they heard the bike. The women looked at each other. Regina turned her head and spoke to Emma while looking down. Emma knew the gesture well, and it was her  _this is your problem look, a_ s predicted Regina said to her.

“I think you need to handle this one Miss Swan.” Emma smiled and kissed Regina on the top of her head. “Whatever you need Madam Mayor.”

 

 Emma was leaning against the frame of the front door; arms crossed as she waited for Gina. When the young girl saw her, she gave the blonde a small smile. When she finally stood before Emma, she whispered. “You would have been far more intimidating if you were not in pajamas.” Emma gave her the eyebrow look. Gina handed her a note. Emma could see that on her left hand two fingers were plastered together and on the other, there was plaster under the infinity chain on her hand, covering her knuckles.

The note was from Elsa.  “The kid needs support, not to be even more independent. Where the hell are you? Nothing is broken just swollen and bruised. Her voice is going to take at least a week to heal and be her standard husky again.”

“Come on Kid. We need to have a little talk.” It amused Gina since she hardly could get a whisper out.  Gina walked into the kitchen for another cup of coffee when Regina made her way down the staircase, dressed in high heel boots and tight-fitting wool pants and a red sweater. Gina looked at her and had a small smile. She looked different when she wore red. It made her seem more regal. It has always been one of her favorite colors. She was placing a hooped earring in while making her way down. She was the ultimate incarnation of elegance and grace. Gina did not care that Regina was now officially kind of her  _mother_ , there was always time to appreciate perfection. Emma stood next to Gina, having much the same thoughts.

 

Regina looked up when she took the last step. She inhaled irritated and stopped, tapping her fingers on her thigh. Emma wanted to run away, but Gina smiled at her and walked to her, hugging her close. Regina melted, she held her child and kissed her on the head before she turned the young face in her hands to look into her eyes. Regina had to hunch a bit, Gina had her usual everything black look, but her boots were flat, making her much shorter than Regina in the heels.

“You scared me last night.” Gina nodded. “Gina, I love you, and I am here for you, always if you need to talk. Please, Love, don’t shut me out?” The tears were back in both their eyes. Emma watched the interaction; Gina was so different with the dark-haired woman. She allowed affection and now, just accepted Regina’s words. Gina tiptoed to kiss Regina on her cheek. “Thank you.” The raspy whisper came out.

Regina gave Emma a look before she took out her coat, scarf, and gloves from the coat cupboard. Her eyebrow shot up again as she gave Emma an up and down look. “Will you actually make it to the office today Sheriff Swan?”

Emma gave her a lopsided smile. “Yes, Madam Mayor I will be at the office within the hour.” Gina gave a little giggle and made her way to her bedroom. Emma yelled at her, “Don’t think I have forgotten about that talk Kid!”


	18. A half-naked girl with two boys….

**Chapter 18**

 

Winter break came at the end of February. Henry was ready to take his shortcut home. He packed his books first of all things. Neal nearly called him every day to give feedback on Gina. He knew about most of the things that were happening in Storybrook, including the episode with Emma at Killian’s grave. Henry spoke or Line chat with Gina regularly. She never mentioned any of her incidences or any of her thoughts or emotions at all. They talked about regular stuff, the Terriers’ season, his thesis, she liked to discuss those with him. He was aware of the few times that Gina lost her voice and the reasons why. He knew something changed, his frustration was that Gina did not tell him, he had an idea of what changed, but she could have trusted him.

Despite what he thought, time was still standing still in Storybrook. It was something that worried him. Gina has been there for nearly two months, Emma took one night. What was different this time?

 

He drove through The Author door and drove the few miles from the town line to Granny’s. They always met him there. He parked the Bug right in front of the diner and got out to greet everyone he loved. His moms took turns to hug him, and a few times they hugged him together. He noticed that all the stress since Thanksgiving and Christmas were gone. Something changed between them.

David shook his hand and Mary Margaret huge and kissed him as well. Ruby and Granny came out to say hello, and lastly, he embraced Neal.

He looked around and before he could ask, Emma told him to look across the street.

The smile on his face told his mothers a lot of things they have been wondering about. Gina was leaning against a lamp post. Black leather, boots and a thick fisherman’s coat. She watched his every move as he came towards her. And there they stood, looking into each other’s eyes for a long time. She leaned in to touch his face and then they embraced. He was swinging her lightly in his arms. When he let her go, she kissed him. Her arms were still around his neck, and she kissed him, much like she kissed Neal.

The three _mothers_ were watching disapprovingly. “Is she cheating on Neal?” Mary Margaret asked. Regina answered her without taking her eyes off the couple that was now in conversation. “I am still trying to figure this out!” She grunted at Mary Margaret through clenched teeth.

Emma was watching their body language. They touched each other constantly. Gina was not only affectionate with Henry she was comfortable. She was not this way with anyone, not even Regina. Henry walked back to them, his fingers interlaced with Gina’s. “It is so good to be home.” He says he pulled their interlaced hands towards his heart.

“I bet it is,” Regina said with a smile, Emma cringed at the tone of her voice and Gina laughed. She let go of Henry's hand and kissed Regina on the cheek.

“Henry and Neal have some surprise for me. So I will see you later?”

“No, moms don’t wait up at all, the three of us are going to spend the night together.” He kissed both his mothers and the three of them disappeared.

 

The one woman looked from one to the other. “They are taking her to the boathouse.” Mary Margaret said, and all three of them shot in that direction.  The mothers tried to creep up to the boathouse as softly as they could. They could hear Gina’s delight at everything. They watched as she looked at the workbench, her hands sliding over the surface, it came to rest on the symbol that Emma thought odd for a workbench. She traced it slowly with her finger. When she turned to face the boys, Emma could see the tears streaming down her face.

“Thank you so much.” They both came in for a hug, and she held onto them for a long time.

“Come on; the bedroom is the best!” Neal encouraged her.

“Really?” She said. “And here I thought it was the open space and the excellent view without bars in front of the windows?” Emma and Regina looked at each other, they have never thought about it, all the windows on the ground floor of the mansion had burglar bars, including Gina’s temporary room. “Come on!” Neal encouraged again. The very first thing she noticed was the hockey stick in the corner. She walked over to it when she saw the skates.

“You got me skates?” She picked them up and held one in her hand as she felt the surface of the skate, then touched the blade, she caressed them like one would a lover. The boys just stood watching her. Neither could wait to see her on the ice again.

“As soon as Doctor Elsa says it is alright, we will take you out,” Henry promised.

“Really? Like I am going to wait one more second.”

“No, no-no.” Both boys jumped in.

“Come on, seriously, you give me these beauties, and I can’t take them out for a spin?”

“Gina, your body is not healed completely. Just give it another week or so?”

“I hate it when your logic sounds like your mother’s” She placed the skate back.

 

The three woman eavesdropping was moving from window to window to hear what was going on. It was getting dark and cold. Mary Margaret ran home to get them some blankets, more coats and a flask of coffee. “Storybrook Rangers?”

“Yeah!” Both boys smiled. “Ruby is our goalkeeper. The woman has the reflexes of a cat on steroids. She is awesome, and I bet you won't even get anything past her.” Gina gave Neal the eyebrow with a predatory smile.

“Oh really?” Neal blush and then made his way to the kitchen, yelling over his shoulder that he was going to cook supper.

Henry came to stand in front of her. “There is one more thing.” He lifted the mattress to one side off the bed and lifted up one of the supporting beams under it which had a handle and was connected to a hinge. He opened the compartment, and Gina looked inside.

“Wow, good hiding place. What is it for?” Henry swallowed. “The dagger.” Gina moved away from him. “The dagger is in the safest place possible!” Henry came closer and held her by the shoulders. “Gina, are you sure?”

“Henry it was out of my possession for far too long. I have not told you what happened during that time.”

“You did not have to. I know what happened.” Gina looked at him for a moment; then she remembered the strength she felt, the loneliness that seemed less, she sat down on the bed, her hands in her hair. “Dear gods, she must have gone through hell!”

“She did, your hell…”

She looked at him. “Did she feel all of it?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know; they will not tell me.”

“And you want to see what will happen if the connection is back?” He nodded. Gina got up. “Henry I think that is a terrible idea!” She looked angry. Emma and Regina could not hear everything that was said, but what they heard and saw, confirm that the both of them were keeping a secret and it was more clear, now than ever that they knew each other far better than what their mothers thought.

 

Mary Margaret came back with the supplies. “What did I miss?” Emma answered Neal is cooking supper and Gina and Henry are having some kind of argument. “About what?”

“We don’t know,” Regina answered. Just then Neal yelled that supper was ready. Henry took Gina by the arm, and they made their way through to the lounge.

Gina ate in silence. Neal had a suspicion what the conversation was about, Henry told him about the dagger, and what Gina did to it. He kind of understood its power, but then again, he was not around when Rumple had it, and that was the kind of power in Storybrook that Henry was afraid of.

“Thank you, Neal, it was delicious.” He gave a shy smile to Gina, and she said. “I will clean up.” The boys got up, “No, I will clean up, Henry needs to talk to you some more.” Neal said. She took a deep breath. “Well?” Henry jumped up and grabbed a few of the storybooks.

Where the trio was hiding, they looked at each other. Emma spoke first. “Does he still believe in that? I thought he was over it when he was ten?” Regina answered.  ”So did I and now it seems he has collected more?”

 

They all tiptoed to the bedroom window when Henry and Gina were now.  Henry placed the mattress back. “You should think about what I asked?”

“And you are insane if you think I will subject her to my feelings again!” Regina and Emma watched each other for a moment. “Gina, we need to break this curse!”

“He still believes that, that we are storybook characters that are cursed?” Mary Margaret asked the obvious.

Gina had moved to the cupboard where Neal said he placed some of her stuff, a shirt landed in the hamper in the corner where Henry sat. The three woman’s eyes widen. And at that point pants flew as well. Gina walked out of the cupboard in only her underwear, and to the three older woman, there was very little of even that!

 

“Have you figured out what will break the curse?” Henry looked up, saw what she had on and looked down at his book again.

“What do you think I have been working on all this time?" Gina’s hand lay on her slender hip, and she was tapping her fingers against her thigh, much the same way, Regina would.

Mary Margaret turned to the two open-mouthed mothers. They were clearly in shock.

“Is Henry gay?” Regina looked to Emma, they both have seen Gina naked, to dress her for sleep, but looking like  _that_  Emma could understand why Regina gave into Gina’s charms that very first day. Why on Earth did her son not grab her and take her to bed?

 

“Amh?” Regina got out. Emma looked at Mary Margaret, “Would it matter if he was gay?”

“Of course not!” Mary Margaret said seriously.  _Change of subject_  Regina thought. “What about your best friend? Would you mind if she was a lesbian?” Mary Margaret frowned. “No, besides Ruby is my best friend and believe me…. There is no Lesbian there!” Emma gave Regina a small smile.

 

They looked at their children again. Gina walked back to the cupboard just as Neal came in. “Ooh, those are nice.” Gina took a step back to show him all of it. “Really?”

She bent towards the cupboard and took something out, she had a G-string on and from the slip out, to the slip in, took seconds. She had a pair of black men’s shorts with the lace bra on, and Emma still thought she looked hot. Gina slingshot Neal right into the face with the G-string.

“Funny,” he said He took the thin piece of cloth and turned it all way around as if he had never seen one. Mary Margaret was looking at him with big eyes.

“So?” Regina asked. “Do you think Neal is gay?” Emma had a giggle. A half-naked girl with two boys…. “Oh gods!” She yelped, and both Regina and Mary Margaret looked at her. “What if the boys are… you know?” All three of them went pale.

Gina tossed the bra over her shoulder, and it landed on Henry's book. “Hey,” She looked at him over her shoulder.

“Serves you right for being such a bore.” She came out, another black and white hockey jersey on.

“I still can't figure why women wear these.” Neal was holding up the G-string. Gina walked over to him, slow and sexy.

“You know those little holes you boys make in your pants pockets, to entertain yourselves when you are bored.” Neal swallowed, watching her intently. “Well, think of what this little bit of lace can do to a woman, all day long in her very tight pants?” Her words were a mere whisper when she got to him, taking the panties from him, dumping them with the bra she picked us next to Henry in the hamper.

“I gotta go!” Gina and Henry both smirked. “Remember to wash your hands!” Gina yelled. Henry looked at her. Anyone could see the love they had for each other. “Why do you do that to him?” She leaned back on the bed. “Because I can.” Henry shook his head. “You are a sadist.” She got up, kissed him on the cheek and said: “You have no idea!”

 

Neal came strolling back in as if nothing happened.

“Sorry, it wasn’t you, it was all those things you said.” He blushed. Gina walked to him and kissed him. “It is alright, and sometimes I wonder why women wear them too?”

“Meaning?” Neal asked.

“Well you know when you need to fart, one of those that is not going away quietly, well I am scared that I will blow that whole little string kaput.” Both boys looked at her and then cracked themselves laughing. When they stopped, Henry looked at her.

“So why do you wear them?” She gave him a lopsided smile. “Oh!” He said.

“What, what did I miss?” Neal asked. Henry smiled at her, a happy smile.

“She wears them because she wants someone to take them off…” Gina blushed.

“Does it work?” Neal asked Gina, shook her head.

“Really? It works on men like a charm; I can assure you that! But Speedos and mankinis not so much a turn on for women.”

“So boxers or briefs?” Neal asked.

“I like boxers, but every woman has her taste.”

“What I would like to know is who the sexy underwear is for?” Gina blushed again.

“Mind your own business Shining.” She answered him.

“Yeah little G, come on, who got through that stainless steel heart of yours?” Gina laughed. “Oh Charming Jr, wouldn’t you like to know.” Henry and Neal looked at each other. “What?” Gina asked.

“You called him Charming Jr,” Henry said. Gina thought about it for a moment.

“Yeah, I did.” She frowned.

“How much is coming back?” Henry asked concerned.

“Just bits and pieces, like that,” She indicated to Neal. “Nothing significant.”

“You remember your mother and your father.” It was not a question; it was an accusation.

“What makes you think that?” She asked with a frown. “It’s nothing.” He realized that whatever it is, it must still be subconscious.

 

Regina thought the entire conversation was unrefined. She never talked to boys much when she was young, but she was certain the conversations were not like that!

Emma, moving as much as she did she thought the three of them banter like siblings. She knew Neal and Henry were close and after what she saw tonight, she wondered how close they were?

Mary Margaret was still stuck on the boys not only being gay but together.

“You think the boys are together like in together?” She asked. “No,” Regina shook her head vigorously, she would have known, “Besides, he is dating Violet!”

“Yes.” Emma said, “But they are not sleeping together,”

“That doesn’t mean anything…” Emma and Mary Margaret looked at her with the expression,  _Are you that stupid_?

“He is almost twenty-three, and Violet is eighteen.” Emma clarified. They looked at their children again.

 

“Okay so you two can speculate about this curse, I will be playing video games,” Neal stated as he started to walk out Gina asked him the question. “Are you happy? I mean here in Storybrook with your parents.” His shoulders slumped. That was always the question. He turned, his eyes apologetic to Henry.

“Yes I am happy here, I do remember a little of what happened over there, what happened to you. It is an unpredictable world, and the gods only know what we will find if we go back.”

“If, if?” Henry’s voice was loud. “I thought this was what you wanted all these years!”

“No Henry, all I ever wanted was to get Gina back because I promised her mother that I would. You and I were entrusted with the future of our Realms, our Kingdoms. The future of man!”

 

Gina sighed. “I think I took care of that part.” They both turned to her. “What do you mean?”

“The dagger, it only contains three names.”

“What!” They both shouted. Gina continued carefully; she did not want to reveal that she remembered everything.

“I know there are many, not just the names I have read in the books. Other cultures also speak of Chernobog. I am only aware of two, and me.”

“What, how?”  Henry asked.

“You asked me about the dagger, about my hair, I think I changed everything, and my hair was the price. That and the delay in time, how Neal and I missed each other. It is the only explanation I could come up with.”

 

“I’m going out for a smoke. I think Henry that we can all do with a drink as well.” Emma frowned. Not because of the smoking and drinking, it was almost as if Gina was the leader. The boys always checked with her asked her, and everything seemed to revolve around this dagger and Gina. There was only one problem with that, it all came out of Henry’s storybooks, so either all three of them were insane, or was this the secret, the burden she saw Gina carried. Elsa said the same. It would explain a little. She did not trust anyone with her burden because, well no one would believe her.

 

All three entered the room again, sitting in various positions. Neal on the bed, drinking a soft drink to Mary Margret’s relief. Henry next to him, a beer in his hand, Gina sat on the floor, leaning against the cupboard, drinking Jack Daniels out of a tumbler, the bottle next to her. She had been aware of the three women's presence almost as soon they sneaked into her personal space, which was huge. She decided to push a bit.

“So, you and Violet, when are you going to tell her?”

“I asked her to come by here tomorrow morning, hope you don’t mind?”

“Hmm, nope, I will go and see Mrs. Gold sometime next week to settle the payment with her, however, knowing your mothers, I will not see this place until I am twenty-one.”

“Why did you sign Guardianship over? Henry asked.

“Duh!” Gina smirked. “What?” He asked.

“Dear gods Henry have you ever tried to go against Regina if she had made up her mind?”

“I see your point.” He said, rubbing his chin that had a little day old fluff on it.

“Besides, she made an excellent case.”

His face got solemn. “Do you think Emma and my mom…?”

“Hell if I know. Emma loves her and Regina love Emma, endlessly I might add. I think your mom is exceptionally too good for the Sheriff. The Sheriff should get her head out of her ass.”

 

Henry looked sad. ” Why are you so angry with Emma. Ma is a real person Gina she has a good heart, and there is nothing she would not do for mom.”

“I know that Henry, but at what price?” Henry looked confused for a moment. Then he looked at her, really looked at her. She remembered more, but she obviously was not ready to talk about it.

“Gina, there was no other choice.” Her eyes flared, the same silver Neal has seen before. Henry knew he had to back off, and do it now. “What do you feel?”

“I would like to see them happy,” Gina answered him.

“How, how can we get them together?” She looked intently at Henry. “You do not want me to answer that question. So Violet?”

Henry shook his head. “Really?”

Mary Margaret turned to them, her head to the side, her eyes closed. “Is there something you would like to tell me?”

“Well, sometimes a woman’s sexual and romantic allures can be fluid and tremendously adjustable throughout her life, friendships sometimes change,” Regina answered.

“I know you love each other that is apparent to anyone with eyes! Have you gone further than that?”

“Amh, no, we are still best friends, and no, I don’t think we are lesbians, were amh…”  Emma tried.

Regina interrupted Emma. “We are still working on the details.”

“So, my son may or may not be in a relationship with your son, who was conceived by a very straight mother and father, who got adopted by the straightest woman I know, who both fell in love with men and now they are in a relationship with each other?” Mary-Margaret asked confused.

“Well we are not in a relationship, and we do not know if Henry and Neal…”

“They both looked at a naked girl and did nothing! Is this whole town gay, is there more people I don’t know about?”

“Shoo.” Both Regina and Emma said. “Are you homophobic Mary Margaret?”

“No!” She said all offended.

 

They looked through the window again; the kids were ready to go to bed. “You wanna sleep with us?” Gina asked.

“With the way you two hog the bed, no thanks,” Neal answered. She smiled at Henry, “Hmm, got you all to myself.”

“Okay, now I am bewildered.” Mary Margaret said. She was starting to get a headache.

They watched, as Henry got undressed in front of Gina, where she was reading one of his books, his back was turned to her, but still, they seems so comfortable with each other and their bodies. He climbed into bed with her, looked at what she was reading. “Should have known, it has been your favorite since ever. Why is it?

She looked at him, and he wiped a tear from her eyes. “Henry, people talk all the time about ‘I love you so much that I would die for you’ but when it comes to that, would they? Would they give up everything for that one person? This,” She held the book up, “Emma made the ultimate sacrificed for Regina. It is a beautiful love story. This is what they need to remember, their dark times.”

“What do you mean?”

“You fall in love with someone, and everything is beautiful and happy, blah, blah…But when the shit hits the fan? Who will be with you?” Henry nodded. “It’s like that joke, about what is the difference between a good friend and a best friend?” Henry smiled and shook his head. “A good friend will bail you out of jail. A best friend will sit next to you in the cell and say: ‘Oh well, we fucked up this time’”

Henry smiled, “I am starting to get your point.”

“Are you, because that is what is missing between them? Emma thinks she is not virtuous enough, and Regina thinks that Emma can never live with her terrible past. They have forgotten every single sacrifice they have made for each other.”

“So break the curse?”

Gina laid the head back against the wall. “Henry, this is not Hogwarts, this is Storybrook.”

“What about you?” He asked.

“What about me? She asked annoyed.

“You and Emma, what about your sacrifices?”

Gina laughed. “We did not do that for each other now did we?”

“You are starting to remember more.” It was a statement, not a question. “Yes”

“What do you remember?” Gina kissed him, “Ask me tomorrow Shining. I think we had enough for tonight.” She turned her back to him, he immediately curled into her, holding her tight. She switched off the bedside lamp, and the last thing she whispered was; “I love you.”


	19. My juvenile delinquent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some F/M sexual content, if it is not your thing, skip the part where Mary Margaret goes home.  
> Reference to child abuse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments are welcome

**Chapter 19**

 

The three women sat huddled by the window where they spent the last hour. They were cold and uncomfortable.  They each sat quietly with their own thoughts.  Emma was desperately trying to figure out what half of the conversation consisted of. The things Henry and Gina said to each other.  To Emma, it felt as if Gina knew him far better than what she realized. She did not grasp the parts where they talked about her and Regina forgetting their dark moments.  _Dark moments like what_?  _What sacrifice did she make for Regina and if it was that important, why did they forget it_? She also wondered about what Henry asked Gina, about her sacrifice. 

 

Regina was thinking of the way Henry looked and treated Gina. There was something wrong.  She did not believe that Henry was gay or that he was in a relationship with Neal, not that it would matter to her; she just wanted to see her son happy.  Not only did Gina’s mere present’s made him happy, but he also treated her very different from other girls, she had seen him interact with.  They knew each other, knew each other far better than just the six months since Gina’s release. In addition, she loved him that much was obvious.

 

Mary Margaret was still trying to get over the gay thing. She loved Neal, and if he were gay, it would be all right, she was not homophobic.  “I have to go; I need to talk to David.”

 

They understood there was something strange about their kids. “Alright, see you tomorrow.”  They waved her off. “What are we going to do now?”  Emma rubbed her eyes.  She was tired.  “Let’s go home.  I will set the alarm and see what happens tomorrow.”

Regina nodded.  She was cold.  Emma helped her into the cruiser, still parked in front of Granny’s. Emma turned the heat on in the car, and Regina started feeling better.  She helped Regina out of the car when they got to the mansion. She carried Regina to the lounge, placed a blanket over her and poured her a double scotch. “Thanks.”  She sat there for a long time, her thoughts and emotions all mangled.  Emma ran the conversations between Henry and Gina repeatedly in her head.  She was missing something, something fundamental.

**********

 

Mary Margaret got home; she had a drink, very unusual for her. She walked into her bedroom with her drink. David was fast asleep.  She finished her drink and took her clothes off. The alcohol kept her warm.  She switched the bedside lamp on and watched David sleep.  There were many aspects of her life that she never questioned. She never questioned her love for David; she never questioned the life path she chose. She sometimes felt that something was missing in her life. She felt it when Emma arrived, she felt it with Neal, she just did not know what it was.

 

She pulled the duvet from David and watched his body.  He stirred a bit from the cold.  Mary Margaret watched him. She looked at his manhood.  She smiled; she loved to watch him when he was still soft.  She nestled between his legs.  She placed her hands on his testicles and watched him stir. She rubbed him softly, enjoying waking him this way. She watched as he grew in her hands. She placed her mouth over him as soon as he was fully erect. He moaned in his sleep. When he felt her moving her mouth over him, he woke; he became aware of what woke him and when he looked down at his beautiful wife slowly moving her mouth over him, he moaned harder. It was exquisite and sheer torture at the same time.  She was giving him so much pleasure but doing it so slowly.  He raked his hands into her short black hair. “Oh gods Honey, that…”  She sucked him hard and returned to massaging his testicles. “Oh, gods Mary Margaret!”  She got more into it, the more he moaned, the more he encouraged her.  He gave her a throaty moan.  “Honey, gods Honey, Mary Margate!” He yelled, and she pulled away. He came, and he came hard. 

He was breathing firmly as he looked at her.  He saw something in her eyes that he had not seen in some time and he braced himself, his wife was not done with him yet.  She saddled him. Rubbed him until his shaft was ready for her. She saddled his thighs, held his perfect member in her hands and placed him exactly where she wanted him. She pushed down on him, he gasped.  It has been a while since she had taken him this way he knew this was for her pleasure, his would come later.  She leaned back, her hands just above his knees.  Her entire body open to him, her smooth, unblemished white skin, the milky white breasts and the pale pink nipples. He loved watching her display herself like this.

 

She started to move slowly, her pelvis moving in small circles, while his entire penis was inside her.  She loved the hard, strong feeling of his significant manhood. The motion was slow; she stimulated herself to a point where she was ready for him. She started to move back and forth, both of them watching the movement of her releasing him just to swallow all of him again. The show itself was erotic enough to make him want her more, but he held on.  She knew his body so well, and when he grabbed onto the headboard and rocked his pelvis with her, she stopped and pinched both his nipples hard with a twist. He ended, he breathed in deep, trying to gain control again.

 

“That’s better.” Mary Margate said in a soft voice.  She continued what she was doing, and when she felt her orgasm starting, she leaned forward, pinning David down and move on top of him with much more urgency now. He was holding onto her. Feeling her swell around him, feeling her wetness, smelling that unique smell that was his wife. He felt her contracting, he held her. She threw her head back and screamed his name.  Mary Margate fell forward, and when he moved under her, holding her, she felt another spasm shoot through her as he ejaculated inside her. 

They held each other reveling at the moment, of love and comfort.  She whispered to him that he could have her again. Anyway, he desired.  He looked at her; she gave him an encouraging smile.  She knew exactly what he wanted. Mary Margate turned herself in the bed, ready for him.  He responded immediately.  He got out of bed, grabbed her forward to him and slipped her legs, one at a time over his shoulders. He held her by the hips, looked into her eyes and asked; “How would you like it?”

“Hard. Hard and fast, I want you to fuck me hard!”  He had never heard her ask him that, but he complied with her request and did what she asked him to do, until they both screamed out, sated, exhausted more in love, falling asleep in each other’s arms.

***********

 

Emma and Regina were back at their post, dressed warmly at five-thirty, the time Gina usually woke up.  Except for this morning, she did not. Emma watched the way Henry and Gina slept together, Henry always took over the bed when he was small, and they had to share a bed when sleeping over at Mary Margate’s. Gina and Henry lay equally spread over the bed, their legs overlapping, both hogging a soft pillow. The duvet so tangled that she could see them.  She felt a sense of warmth when she looked at them.  It felt as if they belonged together. She imagined her son would look this way if he found love and was happy.  She could see that the two loved each other, it was clear to see for anyone, but the spark was missing.  It was neither platonic nor romantic, so what else could it be?

 

Regina was thinking of the night before, about the burglar bars.  She already intended to turn the other room on the second floor into a bedroom for Gina.  It was a great room, lots of sunlight and its own balcony and toilet.  She would still need to use the guest bathroom for showering.  She had it all planned, but the more she got to know Gina, the more she realized that she was not only complicated, but there was also so much more to her.  If she wanted to give Gina her own room, she would need help.  Henry and Neal seemed to know exactly what she needed and wanted. How did they know her so well in such a short time?

 

Mary Margaret startled them as she bent down and joined them. “Gees, sneaking up much?” Regina scolded her.  “I brought coffee.”  She said to make up for it.  Regina and Emma have been spying for over an hour.  “Of all the days to sleep in?”  Emma said.  Regina looked at her. 

“Don’t you find that strange?

“What do you mean?”  Emma asked.

“Well since she has been living with us, the nightmares are fewer and definitely less traumatic, but she has been waking up five-thirty every morning, about dream time, except for today?”  All three woman looked at Henry.  “So you think that she and Henry have a thing and not Henry and Neal?”  Mary Margaret asked.  “No.”  Both mothers responded.  They knew there was something between them; they still had no clue as to what it was.

 

Gina stirred in her sleep. “ _Augh!_ ” Was the first thought that went through her mind. _Bloody women!_  She thought, the one day she could rest, really rest, they gave into their fears again. She turned over, her entire body now on Henry.  She nestled more into him, and he unconsciously wrapped her in his arms.  She rubbed her face against his, feeling the stubble and smelled him.  He always smelled good, and he smelled like Henry. Outside Regina’s eyes went wild. She looked at Emma. “What the hell is going on?” Emma looked just as confused.

 

Gina rubbed softly over Henry’s chest. “Shining…”  She got an hmm.  “Shining, your mothers are outside standing on my daffodils.”

“They are Witch-hazels…” he answered.

“Whatever, go and get them.”  Henry shot up in the bed, fully awake. “What?”

“They have been there since last night.”  Gina rolled over. Gave a yarn.

“Little G you want to tell me our mothers have been eavesdropping on us?”

“Yes, and Mary Margaret.”  Their entire conversation was in whispers so all the woman outside could see, was that Henry woke up, Gina still looked sleepy.

“Go and get them, and make sure Neal has pants on, I will make coffee.”

 

Henry jumped out of bed, grabbed a sweater, went to the toilet, woke Neal and told him to put pants on and stormed outside.  The woman could not see beyond the bedroom, so when Henry appeared around the corner, arms folded over his chest with an angry frown on his face, all three mothers got up.

“Very mature,” he said, “Gina is making coffee, come inside.” 

The three freezing women were grateful the moment they stepped into the house.  The central heating was on, and they started to feel better.  Gina’s kitchen, however, small had a breakfast nook big enough for eight people.  The microwave pinged, and she came back to the freezing woman with steaming mugs.  Emma looked at it, and she was sure by the smell and the spices floating on top that whatever it was, it was undrinkable.

“What is that?”  She asked pointing to the cup. Regina gave her a look of utter disapproval.

“Just drink it, Miss Swan, believe me, you will feel a lot better.”  She took her own cup and drank nearly half of it.  She got a little tremble when the content hit her stomach.  She looked up at Gina. 

“This is amazing, you added something.”  Gina smiled,

“Your pallet never seems to amaze me Madam Mayor. It is a sweet port instead of sugar.”

“I approve.” She drank the rest, Emma and Mary Margaret was still cautious.  Emma took a sip.  It was warm spicy wine.  She took a big swallow and felt the concoction warm her instantly. She relaxed with the warmth, and that was all the encouragement Mary Margaret needed as she started drinking hers as well.

"Would you like another Mayor or would you prefer coffee?”  Regina looked at her, it was of no use pretending that they were not spying and not listening to their conversations. 

“Last night I was Regina, and this morning it is back to Madam Mayor?”  Gina smiled at her. 

“Last night, I was speaking of you, this morning I am speaking to you. Huge difference.”  Regina smiled.

“Coffee please Miss Snow.”  Gina laughed.   

“One unique coffee coming up, just trust me with this?”

She busied herself with the Espresso machine.  This one had, even more, features than the one in Regina’s kitchen.  She was making Henry his usual cocoa. Neal drank his coffee the same way she did.  After Gina passed the two cups to the boys, she went to the fridge and took out a packet of coffee beans.  Regina watched her.  She replaced the beans that were in the machine with the new blend, and while the coffee was brewing, she opened a particular cupboard.

Emma and Mary Margaret finished their drinks, feeling themselves warming up from the inside.  “Thank you, Gina, what was that?”

“Gluhwein, best way to heat up a cold body.  Cocoa?”  She asked the other two women, they both nodded.

 

She poured something into Regina’s coffee and handed it to her, watching her closely as she took the first sip.  Regina turned her head.  “Brazilian beans with coffee liqueur?”

Gina smiled, “Actually it is Argentinian and not just any coffee liqueur, its Kahlua coffee and Frangelico.” Regina could not help but smile, and it almost seemed that Gina was as passionate about making amazing drinks as she felt about making food.

She started with Emma and Mary Margaret's _cocoa_ , both woman could see that it was not cocoa, but she placed the creamy mixture in front of them with a big smile.

“Go ahead!”  She encouraged.  They both drank it and looked at her, it was delicious.

“Wow, what is this?”

“Chia Tea with a twist.”  The both looked at Regina. She rolled her eyes.  

“Chia Tea is an Indian drink, and the ingredients differ from region to region.  The most common ingredients are cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pepper. As for the twist. You have to ask Miss Snow.”  Gina smiled. 

“Instead of cinnamon, I use Cinnamon flavored liqueur, and the top is laced with Cape Velvet and cream.  Enjoy.”  She started to make Henry and Neal a second cup. 

"Are you trying to warm us up or get us drunk Kid?”  Gina turned to Emma, “I thought a bit of both would be in order.”

 

She gave the boys their cups, started with her second when she looked at the clock on the wall. “Henry.”  She said, pointing to the wall clock.

“Oh shit!” He said and ran off to the bathroom. When they heard the shower, the women looked at her.

“Violet will be here soon.”  Emma choked on her drink.  

“You alright Sheriff?” She nodded while coughing.  Regina looked bewildered, but she asked the obvious question. “How will you explain the sleeping arrangements?”  At that point, Violet walked in, hearing the last bit. 

“Morning, Mayor, Sheriff, Mrs. Nolan.”  Gina placed a skinny, extra foam latte in front of Violet.  She kissed the girl on the cheek. 

“Morning Sunshine, he will be out in a bit.”  Violet took a seat next to Neal and looked at Regina. 

“You asked about them sleeping together?”

Regina turned her head sideways. “So you know about that?”  She asked slowly, Violet laughed.

“Of course, it’s not like it is the first time, they did live together for four months!” Emma choked again, Regina’s eyes went wide, Mary Margaret looked to the floor, and Neal cleared his throat.  

“Oh.  Oops!  You didn’t know that they lived together?”  Regina recalled her conversation with Mary Margret and Ruby during the summer what she did not realize was that it was four months.  Emma was thinking more or less the same thing.  When she called Henry after Gina landed up in the hospital, his reaction was that he was worried and that Gina stayed with him. Suddenly a lot of things from the night before made sense.  Violet looked at Gina apologetic. “Don’t worry Sunshine; I do believe that all three of them are very relieved to hear that.”

“Why?”  Gina was looking at Mary Margaret, “Well you know that I never had any privacy, so dressing and undressing in front of people does not faze me, what concerned them,” she pointed with her cup to the three woman. “Was that Henry was not fazed by it either, nor Neal.”  Violet looked half shocked at the three mothers.

“Gods, they are like brother and sister, you thought that they were sleeping together?”  There was no reply.  Gina finished her cup of coffee. 

“Actually they thought Neal and Henry were sleeping together.” Gina tried hard to keep her laughter.  All three of them blushed.  Mary Margaret most of all. Violet and Neal looked at each other and back to the women in front of them.

“Mother,” Neal addressed her very formally.  “Why would you ever get the impression that one, I was gay and two that I was sleeping with my best friend?”  Henry chose that moment to walk back into the kitchen. “Whaaat?”

 

Mary Margaret got her voice and her fight back. “Gina was standing literary naked in front of you, slung her sexy lace underwear at you, and neither of you even looked at her!” Neal looked at Henry, and they needed to respond somehow.  Gina saved them.  “As Violet said, they are like big brothers to me.”   

Emma saw something in her eyes, before she turned and walked off.  “Is there anything else you would like to know Moms?”  Henry asked, looking at Mary Margaret as well.  “No.”  All three answered, even though Emma had a million questions. 

Gina came back, showered and dressed. She had blue jeans on and for a moment, looked like a replica of Emma, except for the color of their jackets.  “Going somewhere, dear?”  Regina asked in the voice, Gina knew was her scolding voice. The conversation between the two of them only.

“I know Henry and Violet need to spend some time together and Neal has plans, so I thought I would go and see Jaden.”

“First we need to discuss your punishment.”  Gina’s mind instantly went to a very dark place.  The first thing she thought to herself, was that she should have never opened herself up.  _Cardinal rules, don’t speak, don’t feel, don’t trust!_   She fucking broke all of them and just when she started to feel safe, they turned on her.  She cursed the Universe for the cruel fate she was handed down.   

 

Regina turned her head; she expected some response.  “Would you like to know what you are being punished for?” 

“Does it matter?” She had been punished so many times, for many different reasons, one more would not matter.  Emma was engaged with Henry in conversation and Neal with Mary Margaret and Violet.  They were oblivious to the tension between Regina and Gina.  “We have discussed several rules by now?”  Gina nodded, she was trying to keep calm.  “You broke two last night. And I cannot let it slide this time Miss Snow.”  Gina swallowed and kept breathing, trying to hold back the fear and anger.

“Smoking and drinking,” Gina said in a soft voice. 

“Yes, so you understand that I cannot let this go unpunished, I am responsible for you now, in every way.” Gina nodded and braced herself mentally and physically.

“You will be grounded for a week, no visiting friends, no motorcycle riding. If you want to see your friends, they can come to our house.”  Regina thought it to be a harsh punishment since it was winter break and she knew Neal and Henry had lots of plans for her, they all needed to adapt, she will not waiver on this. Regina was waiting for the backlash, the pleading, but Gina just stood there, very pale.  Regina got up and walked over to the girl, as soon as she stretched out her arms to hold Gina she took several strides back. This action grabbed Emma’s attention.  She got up and came to stand next to Regina.  “What is going on?”  Regina gave her a half disapproving look. 

“As usual Miss Swan, I am the parent handing down, not only the rules but the punishment.”  Emma’s eyes went wild, and she looked at Gina, now understanding why the girl looked so pale and distance.

“Gina Honey, it will be alright.”  She turned angry to Regina, “What is the _punishment_?”

Regina looked bewildered. “I grounded her for a week.”

 

Emma took a step closer to Gina. “Hear that Little Gina? You are merely grounded for a week. Nothing else Love, nothing more than being grounded.”  She could see Gina breathing hard, keeping her emotions in tacked.  Regina had no idea what she did wrong, but it was obvious that she caused her girl a lot of pain. Neal noticed it too and came to stand next to Emma.

“What’s up?” Emma looked at him in frustration.

“Regina handed down  _punishment_.”

Neal inhaled hard. “What!”

“She grounded her.” 

 

Neal nodded his head understanding completely. “Little G, come on, I will make you a cuppa.”  He took her hand and led her back to the breakfast nook. On his way past Henry, he gave him a light head slap. “What!”  Henry asked.   

“Told you the booze was a bad idea, Little Gina got grounded.”  Henry turned to his mother, who still felt Emma’s anger and her son’s confusion. Emma turned to her.  

“Neal will handle this, but you will need to sit through the consequences of your actions. I told you, Elsa told you, things are different for Gina.” Emma knew that this was going to hurt Regina immensely, but sooner or later, she needed to understand.

“You grounded her! During winter break?” Henry was distraught.  He responded the way she thought Gina would. 

“We have rules, no smoking, no drinking, no sex, until the appropriate age.  Gina broke two last night.”  Regina defended her actions.

“Mom! Gina has been smoking and drinking, like forever!  You cannot ground her during the break, please? Ground her next week?”  It was the first time Regina would hand down punishment, and she knew if she gave in to this, Gina would always, look for a gap.

 

They all took up a seat again.  Mary Margaret knew her son was upset, but she apparently missed something.  Gina was holding his hand, Emma sat across from Regina, looking very angry, so did Henry.

“So,” Neal asked, “What are the terms of this  _punishment_?  Neal said the word much like Emma did, as if it was a disgusting word, leaving a bad taste in their mouths.  Regina answered carefully.  “Gina is grounded for a week.  No outside visits or activities.  Her friends can visit her at home.”

“During break?”  Mary Margaret sounded appalled.

“Gods, my first grounding was just as bad. Mom and Dad took away my cell phone for a week!”  Neal said.  Gina looked at him; she still has not said anything.  Emma took her hand under the table.

“There is a difference Gina.”  The girl nodded at Emma, still uncertain.

“Just for interest sake, what was your last  _punishment_? Neal asked.

 

Henry has long since taken Violet to the bedroom and closed the door, despite the fact that they needed to talk, he did not want her to hear, what he knew was coming. Neal had told him enough stories.

Gina looked at him and Emma.  “The scar on my left shoulder.”  It was a particularly nasty injury, and according to her medical reports, it was due to an infection that was left untreated.  Regina had been rubbing special oil lovingly onto the mark, every night to help with the healing, as she did to all of Gina’s other scars. It made her feel a bit better, she could heal the outside immediately, while they worked on the healing inside.

“My foster father beat me with his belt on my bare back until the belt broke because his food was cold.  One of the other kids cleaned me up.  He took great care in the blemishing my entire back, only breaking the skin in two places. It got infected, and by the time a teacher noticed a peculiar smell on my shirt it had been ten days. I landed up in the hospital, and when I was released, I went to a new home.”

“Mine was cigarette burns.”  Neal showed her the inside of his arm. “I forgot to put out the trash.”

“I was beaten until I could not see out of my left eye, for not sitting in ‘Daddy’s lap,” Emma added

 

Gina still could not look at Regina; their fragile trust broken.  Emma and Neal looked at her. Mary Margaret had sympathy with the Mayor. She learned this lesson the hard way as well.  Mary Margaret, spoke up, her hand on Regina’s.   

“It is alright, with time and patience, both of you will start understanding each other.  They have certain words and actions that trigger them.  They associate it with past abuse. Punishment, for instance, means something very different to our children than what we intend to say.” 

Regina nodded, she understood, but it was the third time in so many weeks that she place Gina in a situation that has hurt her. She finally looked up, and when Emma gave Gina a slight squeeze under the nook, Gina looked up at Regina.

She could see Regina’s pain. “I am so sorry.”  It was not words that often came out of the Mayor's mouth. Gina nodded.  Regina turned to Emma for help. There was nothing. Regina thought for a moment;  _gods help her if this did not work_.

 

“Come on my juvenile delinquent, let me take you home.” Mary Margaret's mouth popped open.  Neal smiled, _well at least she learned something_.

“Fine my unscrupulous dictator!”  Emma just shook her head. Gina came around the counter, and Regina pulled her into a big hug. She bent down a bit to look at Gina.

“I am sorry for frightening you, but the grounding still stands.” Gina gave her a small smile.

“That is alright Mayor.”  They left the boathouse arms around each other's waists.

Emma released a breath.

“Damn, that could have gone so bad.” Neal nodded, then he smiled up at his mother.  “Thank you for helping.” She gave him one of her sweet smiles. Emma turned to look at the closed bedroom door. She understood why Henry took Violet out of the conversation.  “I should let them know that it is safe to come out.” Neal held her by the arm and shook his head. Emma sat down again and looked at him questionably.  “They are breaking up.”

“What?”  Both women asked. “Old story, long-distance relationships, she is off to Berkeley next year. As is her new boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Emma said.


	20. Mills-Swan-Snow-Nolan family business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some violence, not too bad

**Chapter 20**

 

Henry and Violet came out of the room, she had been crying.  Neal was cleaning up, the Sheriff left for her office.  Henry gave Violet a hug.  “Are we alright? No hard feelings, only a good friendship?”  She smiled.  Before she could tell him about Nicholas and their plans, he told her about Raps and theirs.

“Yes Henry, thank you for being honest and sure we can still be friends.”  Neal cringed, he knew Violet had a mean streak in her and he knew Henry was about to get it.

She stopped when she got to the door and turned to Henry. 

“Oh and while we are so honest with each other, Gina made out with your mother in the Rabbit Hole.” She left with that bombshell. Neal stopped what he was doing and looked at Henry.  He has seen Henry angry, which did not happen often.  Henry balled his fists.

 

“Did you know?”  He asked Neal without looking at him. 

“Henry, it was her first day here, your mom mistook her for Emma.”  Henry turned towards him. 

“And no one, including you, thought to tell me?”  Neal swallowed. 

“Henry it was a misunderstanding, one that has been resolved.”  Henry walked up to him and whacked him in the mouth. Neal just took the hit.  Henry stormed out of the house.  Neal thought about giving Gina a heads up, but he knew that would only delay the inevitable. He took out some whiskey and rinsed his mouth with it.  He took a few swallows as well for the pain.  He went to the bathroom.  _Yeah_ , the same place where Gina hit him, his lip was split open again.  He took out the first aid box and followed Henry.

 

Gina and Jaden were talking philosophy, the argument was mostly about Aristotle and his influence on western society.  The front door opened and she assumed it would be Henry. She turned to greet him when she saw his face. 

She stood up.  “Jaden, go to my room and stay there. Whatever you hear, just stay there.”

“Gina, what is going on?”

“Just go!” Gina gave her a harsh tone, hoping that she would listen.

 

“Henry I can explain.”

“Explain what!” He roared. “I trusted you Gina and what do you do? You make out with my mother in a bar like she is just another mark for you.” He hit her with everything inside of him. Gina heard the noise that told her, her nose was broken, again. The impact was hard enough to take her to the ground.  She stood up, she knew he was not finished, and for their relationship’s sake, he needed to get it out.  She did not resist or tried to defend herself. Jaden heard Henry’s anger.  She first called her mother, then she called the sheriff.  She was not too sure what was going on, but she knew it was bad.

“Henry, she mistook me for Emma, I did not know who she was until later.”

“And that makes it better? You know how I feel about my family!”  He hit her again, this time on her right cheek.  It felt like her eye was about to explode.  It was almost in the same spot where Neal kicked her during their fight.

Gina got up again. The blood was streaming down her t-shirt, her cheek throbbing. 

“Henry I apologized as soon as I realized who she was. I swear, I apologized to Emma and ever since then, we just had this new, Guardian relationship.”

“Gina!”  He yelled. “I should fucking kill you, she is my mother, and she is becoming yours!”

“I know, I am sorry Henry.”  He punched her one more time, on the cheek.  She stayed down a little longer. He knew he stood no chance if she lost her temper.  He held out his hand, and she took it.

 

“Come on, let's see if we can stop that bleeding.”  Neal strolled in about a minute later.  He looked at the two of them and shook his head.  He opened the first-aid box and handed Gina some cotton.  He went to one of the cupboards and took out a large jug, which he filled with ice and a bit of water.  Henry took it and went to the lounge.  Neal looked back to Gina, the cotton perfectly plugged into her nose to try and stop the bleeding.  He knew Regina mostly cooked with fresh vegetables, but he looked in the freezer anyway.  He threw Gina a pack of frozen peas, which she held against her cheek and he took the diced carrots for his lip.  Neal took a look at her nose. “Sorry Little G, this time I think you will need surgery, he really whacked you.”  She sighed. “Come on.”  She said in her nasal tone.

 

Henry was laying on the couch, watching TV with his hand in the jug of ice.  Neal took a seat and held the frozen veg to his lip.  Gina knocked on her bedroom door. 

“Jaden, it is alright, you can come out now.”  Jaden opened the door, ready for their first fight because Gina dismissed her as if she was a child.  She looked at the blood all over Gina and suddenly did not know what to do.  “Come on.”  Gina took her by the hand and led her to the lounge.  Jaden looked at the two boys. She turned to Gina.  “What happened?”

 

Gina indicated for her to sit down.  “Henry was offended about something I did, so he needed to take some action.”  Gina was now laying with her head in Jaden's lap, the peas on her cheek.  Every word with a nasal tone.  Jaden looked at her face. 

“Your nose is badly broken.”  Gina nodded.  Jaden took her hand and lifted it to see the damage to her cheek. She pulled a face and placed the bag back.  Jaden started to softly rake her fingers through Gina’s hair.  Gina closed her eyes and lapped up the affection.  She still wondered after the few weeks that they had known each other if Jaden realized how attracted Gina was towards her.  Every touch was like a Band-Aid on her heart.

 

Emma and Elsa stopped in front of 108 Mifflin at the same time.  “I assume my daughter called you?”  Emma nodded.  “She sounded very upset Sheriff.”  _Yeah_ , Emma thought, whatever happened it was bad.  They both walked through to the lounge, where they found the scene that would look almost serene if it was not for the blood on three of them and one tear-stained face.  None of them moved as Emma and Elsa came in.   

Elsa walked over to her daughter, kneeling down next to her, Gina seemed to have fallen asleep while Jaden was soothing her. “Are you alright Honey?” Jaden nodded.  “Henry beat up Gina.”  She whispered.  Elsa was concerned with the amount of blood that soaked up Gina’s shirt.  She took the frozen peas off and gave the same look and intake of breath as her daughter did earlier.

 

Emma walked to Henry.  “What happened?”

“We sorted out some family business.”  Emma had several things to say, but at the moment she was Sheriff, not a mother.  She looked to Neal, he took the frozen veg away, and Emma cringed on his behalf.  Neither Neal nor Gina had defensive wounds. Henry was clearly the attacker.  She could see his bruised and swollen knuckles through the jug.

“Henry I need to arrest you for assault.”

“I'm not pressing charges Sheriff,” Neal said with effort through his swollen lip.

“Neither am I.”  Gina spoke up in her nasal tone.  Elsa was on her cell and Emma came to kneel beside the kid.

“What was the fight about Little Gina?” Gina opened her eyes, and the deep green of them made Emma wonder how it was that her son was not dead.

“As Henry said, we sorted out some family business.”

“Gina!”  Emma said frustrated.  “Saying that the way you both are saying it, makes it sound like Irish mob family business!”

Gina smiled, her eyes closed again.  “Nope Sheriff, just Mills-Swan-Snow-Nolan family business.”

“Regina and I did not teach Henry to resolve issues with violence.”

Gina wanted to laugh, but she knew her face would hurt like hell.   _That was exactly how he was raised, but that was beside the point_.

“He felt very strongly about the matter.”

“Why did you not defend yourself?”

“Because Henry had a right to defend his mother’s honor.”

Emma stepped back, _the kiss_ , he found out about the kiss and felt that he should defend Regina, even though it happened months ago.  She remembered that she wanted to punch Gina in the face at the time.  She could not blame her son.

 

Elsa killed her call, “We need to get Gina to the hospital.  Her nose is badly broken. Doc and Whale are there.  I know Whale is an ass, but he can fix up the boys, while Doc has a look at Gina.  I am almost sure that she will need surgery. I need to get back to the school, substitute exams.”  She looked apologetic at Emma. “It is alright, thank you, Doctor.”

She looked at them.  “Come on kids!”  They all got up, and Jaden asked if it would be alright to come along. Emma nodded, and the five of them took the cruiser to the hospital.  Emma called Regina and Mary Margaret from the car to let them know what happened. 

********

 

“What the hell is wrong with the three of you?” Regina lost it the moment she saw Henry and Neal in the ER, Gina was taken to, the OR she has not seen her yet.  “Is this the way it will always be? The three of you having issues with each other, what is next?  Is Neal going to beat up Henry?”

Neal could hardly speak with his swollen lip, Henry said nothing.  He looked to Emma, and she intervened. 

“Regina, he had a good reason for going after Gina.”  Regina turned to Emma. She had a black and red business suit on and with the heels she was just that little bit taller than Emma.  She took a pose, her voice stone cold.  She spoke to Emma with all the authority of the Mayor. 

“Miss Swan, are you implying or encouraging our children that violence is the solution as to solve problems?”  Emma showed her frustration by placing her hands on her hips. 

“In life, there are always. Some things or someone worth fighting for, literary!  That is the case here.  Both Neal and Gina understand it, so neither of them are charging Henry with assault.” 

 

Regina looked at her with a stare would make anyone else piss themselves.  “And that makes all of this alright Sheriff Swan?”

“Regina…”

“Don’t!  I don’t care what the issue is, this is not acceptable!”  She changed her look from Emma to Henry. He gave her the same hard look back. Regina narrowed her eyes slightly, her mouth changing, she looked the way she felt, extremely angry.

“So, is this what you learn in Boston?  That it is alright to fight?  That it is alright to beat up kids that are younger than you, to assault abused children?” The statement was harsh.   Henry did not take his eyes off his mother, he met her stare straight on. Regina clenched her jaw. “So what the hell was so important that you felt you had to go to this extreme?”

He continued to just stare at her.  Emma leaned over and whispered in her ear.  “That would be you.  He found out about the kiss.  He was defending your honor.”

Regina’s anger came to a boiling point.  She tapped with her fingers against her thigh, never a good sign.  Her eyes on Henry, she so desperately wanted to explain, thank him, kill Emma, but she answered in a cold tone.  “Even that, Henry, does not make this right.”

 

She turned to leave the ER before anyone of them could see her real emotions.  Especially Emma.  All of a sudden Regina loved someone else.  She loved Henry with all her heart and Emma as well, to the point of having it broken, but Little Gina…  She wiped her tears.  She felt something different for Gina.  She knew it was silly, but it felt like she had known this girl all her life and that they have only been separated for a little while to return to the love and relationship they had before.  Regina felt with everything inside her that Gina was her child.  Not her adopted child, but her born child.  It was something she could not explain, neither did she discuss it with anyone.  Therefore when her girl got hurt, no matter the reason, she felt hurt.  And now they have all done it.  She more than once, it was emotional pain that she caused, she understood Henry’s actions, she might not approve, but she understood. 

 

Regina thought about some of the conversations they shared, the darkness, that same irritation tapping they had.  _Was it only because she never had a child of her own that she felt this way or was there a connection?  What was her relationship with Henry_?  Regina had no doubt that she loved him and he certainly loved her back.  It was there for anyone to see, but whatever their relationship was, it was far more complicated than any of them would acknowledge.

She was about to make her way to the waiting room when Doc called her.  She walked up to the small elderly doctor.  He might not look like much, but like Elsa, Regina trusted him. 

“Mayor, her nose was badly broken, I had to do some reconstructive surgery.”  He was talking to Regina, while they were making their way to the recovery room.  “Don’t worry, it is not a nose job, I just made sure that it is straight and I had to build her bridge a bit.  It will help if she stays out of fights.”  He looked at Regina.  He did not want to be in her shoes.  How do you deal with one of your children beating up the other one?

 

Doc left her in Gina’s room.  He also explained that they gave her the minimum sedation and that she will wake up in a lot of pain.  Regina pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed, holding on to her right hand. She looked at the bracelet again.  It was very unlike Gina.  It was pretty, delicate. The delicate chain between the ring and bracelet was beautifully made.  Regina knew her jewelry, and she knew this was a custom job that was crafted to exact size for only Gina.  She looked at it while holding the small hand.  How could it fit so perfectly now if she had it on since she was six?  Like Emma, she had been through all Gina’s files.

She concentrated so much on the bracelet that she did not realize that Gina was awake and looking at her for just a moment. 

“You gave me my first ring.” Regina looked up and felt Gina’s thumb rubbing her hand.  Her eyes were now closed, so Regina was not too sure if Gina spoke at all or if it was something just came to her? “Honey?” Gina smiled in her half-awake state. 

“It was silver with your crest on it, you said it made us family.”  Regina swallowed hard.  She had no idea if Gina was just talking after the anesthesia or really speaking to her.  Gina opened her eyes. She looked at Regina. 

“I have loved you from the first time you picked me up.  I would never forget the way you held me, loved, me and raised me.”  She closed her eyes again and continued to sleep.  Regina just sat there.  Her mind was telling her that it was just anesthesia talk, but her heart let the tears flow, knowing that what she said was true, she felt it, she just did not understand it.

 

Emma came in about an hour later.  It was late afternoon, but Regina was sleeping in her seat with her head on Gina’s bed.  Gina’s hand made its way to Regina’s shoulder.  They were comforting each other.  Emma swallowed.   _Wasn’t that her job_?  She looked at them.  She did not know where she fitted in any longer.  Gina gave Regina the love, attention and the comfort that she needed.  It was all the things that she wanted to give Regina, but like Gina, she had that fragile reserve that said to her:  _And what if this goes wrong?  Will I ever recover?_   She saw it in Gina’s eyes when the  _punishment_  was handed down.

Gina felt that the trust was broken.  It took some time for her to look at Regina with that certain look again and if Emma did not know any better she would think that it was love, but Henry and Neal, as well as her experience,  told her that love was not something Gina came to very easily.  It made her think again about the boys.  She knew Gina loved them, what kind of love it was still mystified her, but it was love.  Then there was Killian, why was she there, was she crying for all the pain she carried or were there some tears for Killian? And if there was, why, she did not even know Killian.

 

Emma knew she wanted to ask Gina so many questions, there were too many things that seemed not to add up.  And then there were the things she and Henry spoke off.  Emma sacrificing something for Regina and Gina and Emma sacrificing something for… who, each other, people they loved?  It did not make sense.  She hated to wake Regina, but she knew if she did not, the Mayor was going to have a very stiff neck.  “Regina?’  She spoke softly.  “Regina, you need to wake up.”  Her head shot up.  Her hair slightly flat where she slept on the bed.  She shook the perfectly styled hair and raked it a bit with her fingers.  She looked at Gina before she looked at Emma.  “How long have I slept?”

“Perhaps two hours.”

“How are Henry and Neal?”

“That is why I am here, they want to keep Gina overnight, Elsa will be here soon, but the boys are ready to go home.”  She looked a bit concerned.  “David and Mary Margaret want to talk to both of us.”

Regina nodded, she could imagine what that conversation would be like. “That is fine. I will take Henry home, and start cooking.”

Emma kneeled down to look at her.  “Mary Margaret invited us to their place, so you can take Henry home and freshen up if you would like, I will stay here with Gina and meet up with you later at the Nolan’s?”

Regina looked down at her, slipping a stray strand of blond hair out of her face. The tears welled up again as she looked at Emma. She gave Emma one of her fake smiles.  “That is fine Miss Swan, thank you.”  She got up and gave Gina a kiss on her head before she left.  Emma took her place in the chair.

 

Henry’s hand was in a bandage, and he had a sling on. All Regina asked him was if he was ready and had all his stuff.  Mary Margaret and David already took Jaden and Neal home.  They walked in silence to the Mercedes and got in.  Before Regina started the engine, she looked at her son.  He was looking down. “Some days I want to kill your mother or shake her very hard.  I am very much in love with her Henry and the moment I saw Gina and the way she looked at me, my heart leaped.  I thought that Emma had finally come to her senses. I still do not understand.  Not you and Gina, not Gina and Neal not me and Emma, but I do know you and me.  I am sorry for indulging in Gina’s kiss.” She had to take a breath, what she was saying to her son was not easy. “Though I do not approve of the methods in which you three seem to solve your problems, I do appreciate you standing up on my behalf, fighting for my honor.” 

Henry looked at her.  “Gina is special to you?”  She nodded. “I think I feel much the same about her as you do. I still do not understand it?  Can you explain it to me?”  Henry looked at her half sad.  “I wish I could mom.  I love her like my little sister, and there is nothing I would not do for her, except apparently when it comes to you.”  Regina gave him a smile through her tears.

“Maybe that is it, I love her as if she is your little sister too.” Henry smiled and nodded.  She leaned over and gave him a hug and a kiss.  She could feel he was different, his shoulders were brought, his arms held her stronger.  He was not a boy any longer. 

“I love you, Henry.”  She kissed him on the cheek.  She wiped her tears.  “So how is your hand?”  She asked.  Henry laughed.  “Paining like a bitch, as Gina would say.”


	21. Sibling rivalry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the mysteries are revealed.

**Chapter 21**  

 

Regina found quite a different atmosphere at the Nolan’s than what she expected.  She assumed that Neal made an effort to calm his parents down.  It was their usual _family_ dinner.  They did talk about their children beating each other up, all four parents felt that same way, that it was unacceptable.  The boys said nothing.

“Just explain something to me? How can you build her such a beautiful home and then have a bloodied fight with her?  You both love her…” Mary Margaret trailed off. She closed her eyes and took a breath before she carried on.  “I still do not know how the two of you love her, are both of you sleeping with her?”

“MOM!’ Neal yelled, and Henry gave her a look of shocked discussed.

“She is like our baby sister, how on earth did you come to the conclusion that we or either of us is sleeping with her?  And no, we are not sleeping with each other either!” Henry said stern.

 

Emma and Regina smiled at each other. It cleared up two questions.  Mary Margaret had her little frown again, her black hair falling to one side as she tilted her head. “So explain the fighting?”

“Sibling rivalry!”  Both boys said at once.  Emma frowned, and there was the problem, what they said right there, that was one of the lies. She inhaled. 

“You are lying.” 

Henry spoke first.  “Look at me mom, use your superpower? I love Gina like my baby sister and the fighting was brother-sister issues.” Everyone was waiting for Emma.  She knew Henry got better at keeping secrets, but he still could not lie to her that way, looking straight at her, there was no way he would get anything past her. 

“He is telling the truth.”

“So that is it?” David asked in his deep voice. “Sibling rivalry!”  The boys nodded.  “And is it at an end now?” He asked again.

“Depends on how she answers my next question,” Henry said gloomily.  “And what exactly would your next question be  young man?” David wanted to know.

“How long have you known?”

“Known what?”  Regina asked. Neal looked up and sighed. 

“Son of a bitch,” he mumbled to himself as he got up. Henry’s question had upset him as well.  All the adults turned to him. He was trying to keep his temper at bay.  He turned to Henry. 

 

“Since she saw me the first time, that second day.”

Henry closed his mouth with his left hand. There were tears in his eyes.  Neal’s response has now upset him.  It was like a tennis match, you keep on following the ball with your head, but you have no idea who will win the point.  All the adults were looking at Henry now.

“Why would she keep it from us?  Why the hell did she pretend? It fucking explains everything now.  Her attitude towards all of us!”

“Yes,” Neal said.  “Especially towards your mothers.”

Henry looked up at him. 

“I need to talk to her.”  Henry got up, so did Emma and Regina.  Emma spoke, and Regina was grateful for it because she had no idea what she would have said. 

 

“You are not speaking to her today Henry, and certainly not when you are upset.”  He had tears in his eyes.   _She knew the answer, and she did not tell him_.  They were talking about it just yesterday, he asked her, she lied.  He felt broken, how could she lie to him like that?

“Come on Kid. I think we need to get you home.”  She placed an arm protectively over him and as big as what he was he melted into her embrace.  He needed the comfort, and yes, he knew his mom was right.  He could not speak to Gina right now.

 

When Gina woke up the next morning after a nightmare, the Sheriff was standing over her.    She gave Emma one look, leaned over to get herself a glass of water that was next to her bed.  Her face felt like it was going to explode.  She did not need to ask the Sheriff what was going on, she could feel it.

“So?”  She said to Emma, who immediately lost her temper.

“So?  Is that all you’ve got?”

Gina looked at her unfazed.  Emma carried on, in her anger all her words were articulated, precisely and spoken with venom. 

“My son cried last night. Do you know when last I saw him cry?  Neither his mother nor I could console him, and why?  Because of you Gina.”

Gina took a breath.  “I was here sleeping.”  Emma felt like slapping her. It took all of her control not to.

“We asked them.  We asked both of the boys what this was between the three of you. You know what the boys said?”

“Sibling rivalry,” Gina answered her tone very nasal with the nose cast and plaster on.  Emma had no feelings, or empathy for this girl at the moment.

“Yes! Then David asked if this was the last of it and Henry said it all depends on your answer to his next question!” 

 

Regina had made her way to the hospital as well, she, Elsa and Jaden were standing in the hall, listening.  She had only ever heard Emma this angry once, and that was when they were fighting over Henry.  Elsa was dealing with the conversation as Gina’s psychologist. She knew there were issues between Gina and Emma and that Gina was hiding something.  Perhaps this way, they could all help her.  She had to hold on to her own child that was very ready to take on the Sheriff, which made Elsa wonder again about their friendship.

“So what was the question?”  Gina asked

“How long have you known?”  Gina took it in.  “There was more?”  She asked

“Yes, Neal figured out that it was the moment you met him and both of them got so upset because you lied to them.”  Emma started pacing to get rid of some of the adrenalin.

“Sheriff, your son has an obsession with something.”

“The Curse.”  Emma interrupted. She got a small smile from Gina. 

“Yes, the curse. He thinks I am the one to break it.”

“So you are the new Savior?” Emma accused.

“No Sheriff, you are and always will be the Savior, my role is to remember something, which I do now and then help you to break the curse.”

“So what do I need? True loves kiss?” The sarcasm in Emma's voice did not go unnoticed.

“Unfortunately it is not nearly as simple as that.  Even if the solution to the curse is real, it would also be impossible.”

“So you know how to break the curse, you just can’t?”

“Exactly.  I lied because Henry will not rest until this curse is broken and I do not think that is for the best.”

 

Emma was still angry, but she was starting to understand. She never realized that Henry still believed in these things, that was the upsetting part, and he dragged Neal into these beliefs.

“So what do you think you need to do?”  She asked Gina irritated.

Gina smirked. “Well first, you need to believe, as you did with the first curse.”

“The first curse, how many are there?”  Emma asked. Gina squinted her eyes and started counting.

 

“Well, the first one Regina cast, the second Peter Pan, the third was Mary Margaret, with a little help for the Wicked Witch of the West who would be Zelena, the fourth well it was more a spell. The Snow Queen cast a spell making everyone hate each other. After that, the previous Author rewrote all the fairy tales which were kind of a curse. So the sixth one, I think that was the…” She counted on her fingers again. “That one was cast by five Dark One’s back. Then you all went to the afterlife, alive, so it was literary.” Emma was starting to get a headache.  “I think the next one? Yeah, that was the Black Fairy curse, Fiona, the previous Dark One. That one took you all back to the Enchanted Forest where you all lived for I think seven years and despite all the magic that you all have combined, you could not stop her, so it was decided by a council to cast the Dark Curse yet again.” She said as if it explained everything.  “And this one, I do believe was your work Sheriff.” 

 

Emma looked at her a long time before she answered.  “All right, so where do you fit in?”  Gina sighed as if she really did not want to answer.  Instead, she asked Emma a question.  “Did Fiona kill Killian?”  Emma swallowed and nodded.  “And who killed Fiona?”

Emma looked at her for a long time. She tried to remember. 

“Come on Sheriff. Surely you remembered who killed your husband's murderer?”  She knew she was pressing.

“I can't remember how it happened.”  Emma's voice was very soft. Gina looked down and was sorry again. Any movement made her face hurt.

 

“And that Sheriff is the reason why I keep secrets.  Despite what Henry thinks, I still do not believe that even attempting to break this curse is a good idea.  Despite the fact that I think it would be impossible.”

“Why would it be impossible?”  Emma asked she could not believe they were having this conversation.

“Henry’s book ends where the Savior, after adding the last ingredient, makes a promise. A promised that was whispered.  So no one except for me knows what was whispered.  And you have broken that promise.”

“What did I promise?” Emma asked. Gina looked at her, tears not too far away. “I will never tell you.  Despite everything you, the Mayor and Henry might think, I will never intently hurt any of you, definitely not that way.  That promise is my burden to carry and no one else.”

“So you want to protect Henry, therefore the lies and secrets?” Emma's questions continued.

“Yes.”

“And how are you planning to break this illusion of his without hurting him?” Emma raised an eyebrow to Gina.

“I will do what he asked,” Gina stated

“You will break the curse?”  Gina smiled slightly.  “No, already told you, even if it is real, it is impossible. No, he asked me something else.”

“How do I know you are not delusional and crazy?”

 

Gina looked at her and Emma could see the silver specs and green eyes grow darker, it was a look she had seen before.  “I am sorry Emma.”  She said, and before the Sheriff could even ask for what, Gina grabbed Emma’s hand with her right hand.  The bracelet lit up for a moment and their eyes connected.  It was just a moment, but to Emma, it felt like an eternity. She pulled away and fell into the corner of the room on the floor, breathing heavily. 

“What the fuck was that!” She asked panicked.  Regina was ready to run into the room, Elsa held her back.  She shook her head and whispered.  “Emma is alright. We need to find out what Gina knows.” 

 

“I think you know exactly what  _that_  was!” Gina’s voice was soft and husky again.  Her eyes were normal.  When Emma finally got up and looked at her, she saw the tears streaming over her face. 

“I am so sorry. I did not know.  I did not know about the connection. I did not know that you felt everything.  I am so sorry that you had to go through my pain.  Pain and a burden that was never meant for you to carry.”  Emma was crying as well.  They shared a flashback from the rape. Gina just showed her the fighting. She did not experience the actual rape this time.  But it was enough and very raw.  She could feel everything Gina was feeling.  The same anger, hatred and disgust, the fear and at the same time the instinct to survive as well as the thoughts of giving up, welcoming death.

 

Emma held her. They cried for some time before Emma softly dried the tears on Gina’s face, trying not to hurt her.  “Is this your nightmare every night?”

Gina sadly shook her head. Emma frowned. “You meant to tell me your nightmares are worse than this?” 

She nodded, another tear falling.  “The one is physical and a bit emotional, the other one is only emotional.”

“So that is the reason why you have built your walls and carry your armor, even with Regina?” Gina gave her a little smile as an answer.  “You love Regina,” Emma stated.  “I do Sheriff, she has been very good to me, and I think she saved my life.”  Emma nodded

“So where from here?”

“I need you to tell Henry that I will do what he asked, but this is on him.  He will have to live with the consequences of his request. All magic comes with a price. I will do what he asked tonight, and he will stay with you.”

“And what is that going to resolve?”  Emma looked worried as she asked.

“We will know tomorrow,” Gina stated flatly.

“Do you think Doctor Frost will release you today?”

“Sheriff that will all depend on whether or not she thinks I am crazy.”

Emma frowned.  “I will not tell her about our conversation.”

“You don’t need to Sheriff, Doctor Frost, Mayor Mills, and Jaden have been standing in the hallway listening to our conversation.”  The next moment the three guilty parties walked in.  “How do you do that?”  Emma asked.  “How do you know if someone is telling you a lie?” Gina answered Emma with her own question.

“So this is what?  Your superpower?”  Gina just shrugged.

Elsa was busy checking Gina’s vitals and her bruises.  Doc did a good job.  She opened her file and looked at the x-rays through the light of the room.  Regina gave them both a small smile and asked them both if they were alright?  They nodded.  Jaden was still standing at the door. She did not quite know what to do.

  

“All right, I need to speak to Gina alone.  You can all wait in the visitor's area.  All three left, feeling like something was left unsaid.  Elsa closed the door.

“So this curse?”  Gina wanted to giggle, but her cheek hurt too much.  “You should hear their family tree that is ten times worse than the complexity of the various curses.”

She saw how seriously Elsa looked at her.

“Doctor Frost, have you ever seen an atom?” Gina asked instead.

“No.”

“Yet you believe that they are there that our entire Universe consists of matter, which in turn consists of atoms?”

“Yes.” The doctor answered.

“That is how it is with the curse.  You do not need to have seen, it to know that it is true, in modern society we just accept what scientists tell us, even though we have never seen it with our own eyes.”

Elsa pulled a chair closer and sat with Gina.  “Alright, I will indulge you.  Is this, these things you talk about, is it the same fairy tales that you spoke of when you landed in Boston ten years ago?”

“Yes.”

“So you have never stopped believing in them, you just stopped talking about it?”  Elsa questioned.

“Yes and no.  I stopped talking about it because that got me out of one abusive situation.  Survival instincts. Some of it I truly thought was only my imagination, like Neal, but my dream…Those are mostly about my life before Boston.”

“Do you believe every person in Storybrook is a fairytale character?”  Gina stopped to think for a moment.  How do you explain to someone that it is the truth, without landing in the psych ward?

“As I said, I believe in atoms, just like you, except that I have seen an atom.”

 

Elsa wiped her brow,  _Damn, this kid was smart_.

“What will you do tonight?”  Elsa was curious.

“Basically what I always do. Try and exhaust myself so that I can at least get a few hours of sleep.”

“Then how will this impact Emma?” The whole thing confused the doctor.

“What is Jaden feeling right now?”  _Answer a question with a question_. Shrink trick Elsa thought.  “She is very upset and confused.”

“And how do you know that without talking to her?”

“I’m her mother,” Elsa answered as if it was obvious.  After she answered, she thought about it.   _Fuck_  she thought.   _Who is analyzing who_?

 

“So you and Emma have a connection?”

“Yes, neither of us knew about it, until a year or so ago.”

“That was when you were in prison?”  Elsa enquired.

“Yes, Emma and I connected…”  She could not finish her sentence.  She looked at her doctor, the message was clear, this was too painful.  “Ask Emma.”

“So in this story land, who would I be?”

The green eyes sparkled.  “Ever saw the movie Frozen?”

“You have got to be kidding me?” Elsa responded.

“I don’t pick the characters or their alternate states. It is what it is.”

 

Elsa was tired of the game.  “Gina, are you fucking with me or are you crazy?”

 _Straight question, how do you answer that one_?  “I think, we both know that I am not crazy.”

“Fine,” Elsa said and scribbled something on Gina’s chart.  “What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?”

 

 _Brilliant_ , Gina thought,  _bring up the subject, when I least expect it_.  “I really like your daughter, Doctor Frost, like as in like.”

“I get it, Gina.”  She answered irritated. 

“Jaden has given me no indication that she feels the same, are the same or that she has even thought about it.  I have too much respect for her to push something that is not there.  If I can only be her friend and share her brilliant mind, then that is what I will accept.”

 

Elsa was still looking at the chart, making a few more notes.  She looked up. “Thank you for that, but if you break her heart in any way, I swear to you I will break every bone in your body.  Are we clear Miss Snow?”

“We are Doctor Frost.”

 

“You can go home.  Just keep still, I would imagine that even small movements will make your head feel like exploding.”

“Thank you, Doctor Frost.” 

“Perhaps we have come to a stage in our relationship where you can drop the Doctor Frost?”

Gina frowned.  “Just call me Elsa?”

“That is most likely not going to happen.  Perhaps Queen Elsa?”

Elsa blew out a breath and opened the door.   _Gods every time she thought she got through to the kid or even understood just a little, she has a day like today_.

 

Regina, Emma, and Jaden got up when she approached them.  Elsa gave them a short version of their discussion.  Ending her observations with the fact, that she is releasing Gina.  Jaden had an immediate smile.  Regina and Emma looked at each other.  Their silent communication was taking place.  “Thank you, Elsa,” Regina said far calmer than what she felt. 

“Can Jaden come with us, I will drop her off at your place after supper?”  Jaden’s face beamed.  The brilliant, but socially awkward child had never had a friend like Gina, and after what Gina promised her, she was happy that her girl had this special friend. 

“Of course, and thank you.”  Regina smiled at her. “Alright Jaden, you stay here with Emma while I get our problem child.”

 

Gina was already dressed when Regina knocked on the door and was invited in.  She had the bloodstained hockey jersey on.  “Are you ready to go?”  Regina’s voice was soft. “Yes, ma’am,” Gina answered.  “May I please go to the boathouse and get a clean shirt?”  Regina stopped, her back to Gina as she was about to walk out of the door.  “Is that the real reason why you want to go to the boathouse?”

 

“No ma’am.”  At least she was honest, Regina thought.  “You told Emma that…” She could not finish the sentence.  Gina walked up to her and lightly turned her around, Regina could not look up.  Gina gently cupped her face and lifted her chin so that she had to look into the green eyes.

“But that is not what you want to talk to me about?”  Again, Regina thought, she knew there was more without Regina giving her any indication that she had a completely different conversation in her mind.  She kissed Gina gently on the forehead. 

“We will talk about that later, I will take you to the boathouse, and then I am taking you home, you are now grounded for another week.”

“Why?”

“For fighting.”

Gina blew a breath out.  “But I didn’t, I just took three punches.”

“None the less,” Regina said firm. “It is now two weeks.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

 

Emma went back to work. Gina asked her if she gave the message to Henry, she confirmed that she did.  The young girl just gave her a nod and walked out with Regina and Jaden.  When Jaden got nervous, she spoke a lot, like her aunt.  She was rambling off facts about delusions at this point.  Gina just listened, now and then asking a question.  Regina parked by the main road, across from Granny’s.  She gave Gina a look and asked Jaden to come with her to place an order for all of them.

 

Gina walked to the boathouse.  Every fiber of her told her that what she was about to do was wrong.  Some things were your responsibility, and the Dark One’s curse was hers to carry now, not Emma’s.  Like it was the Author’s curse to write the truth without the ability to change the outcome.

 She opened the safe that Henry showed her.  She took the Dark One dagger from her arm and placed it in the safe.  She took out the Chinese puzzle box that was within it.  She now knew what was inside and how to open it, so she did.  She swallowed as she looked on to the Prometheus flame. In a small compartment next to it were five vials, she took out the dark orange-red one.  She closed the puzzle box again and locked the safe.  She placed one drop of the red liquid onto the safe and said a spell in Sumerian and blew on her hand.  The magic fire sign disappeared and sealed the safe. Before she placed the mattress back, Gina concealed the vial under a floor plank and changed her shirt.

If Regina taught her one thing about magic as she grew up, it was to never use blood magic, because you never knew which one of your relatives were going to use it to enter your vault or castle.  At the time little Gina laughed, she knew the story, it was now really funny, but she suspected at the time, that it had not amused the half redeemed Evil Queen Regina.

She met Regina and Jaden at the car.  She had a clean shirt on, and that was all that Regina could see. She indicated with her head for Gina to get in and they drove home.

 

Henry and Neal were pacing in the lounge.  The anger about the lies had subsided, Emma told Henry a bit and she told him that Gina would do what he asked her to do, but that the consequences will be his.  He could accept the fact that Gina lied and kept a very big secret from them because she thought that she was protecting the entire family.  So now he and Neal were waiting.  He did not know if Gina would keep her end of the deal, what would happen to his mother if Gina knew how to break the curse?

When the door opened, and Regina and Jaden walked in, the first thing he looked at was Gina’s right hand. It was not there.  He swallowed.  Tomorrow they will know, all of them would know.

 


	22. Queen Reg

**Chapter 22**

 

Supper was a tense affair.  Emma had a question for Regina, Regina had a question for Gina, Gina was glaring at Neal and Henry, and Jaden was trying to calculate in minutes when last Gina spoke to her. After supper Neal and Henry made their way to the lounge to watch TV, Gina just shook her head.  She and Jaden cleared up while Regina hanged around, wiping the surfaces.  Gina turned to her,

“May Jaden stay a bit longer? Just so that we can catch up?”

“Sure,” Regina smiled at her.  She took Jaden by the hand, and the young girl relaxed immediately.

“I am sorry about supper,” Gina told Jaden as soon as they were alone.

“It was very nice.” Jaden frowned.  Gina gave her a soft smile. 

“I meant the company.  The boys behaved like asses, Emma is still angry with me, so things were kind of tense.”

The door was open, it was the rule in the house, but Gina did not care tonight, she pulled Jaden into her arms and held her.  She could feel the heat between their bodies, the soft curves of Jaden so close to her.  Jaden was much shorter than her friend; her head rested on Gina’s shoulder and her breast.  She had never felt so completely…  She frowned,  _what did she feel_?  _Safe, comfortable, did she dare and hope for love_?  She turned in Gina’s arms and looked up at her.  The melting blue eyes were penetrating the soft green once.  Gina swallowed.  She did not often allow people to look so deep into her Soul. She was scared of what Jaden would see there.  But Jaden cupped her face and whispered. 

“It will not always hurt this much.”  Her words brought on a single tear. She wiped it tenderly off Gina’s face and stood on her toes to be just that little closer.  She had to know, her heart was beating fast, and she could feel her palms go all sweaty. Gina met her mouth.  At the affectionate touch of their lips, Jaden started shaking from top to bottom. Gina only captured her lips, trying very hard to control herself. She opened her mouth slightly and swallowed Jaden’s bottom lip into her mouth, before she covered both lips, as she pulled away, she ended it with a tender kiss full on the lips.  She held Jaden by the shoulders to see what her reaction would be. She looked at Gina, her breath coming in short gasps. Gina could feel that she was still shaking, but the look in those blue eyes was darker, filled with wonder, Gina could not stand it any longer, by the gods, she needed to kiss this girl, kiss her thoroughly.

 

She pulled Jaden towards her, turned them around and pushed the girl against the wall, next to the door, her strong arms pulled her up a bit, and she placed her mouth over Jaden’s again. She tried to be slow and gentle, but she wanted this so much.  Her tongue pushed its way into the beautiful mouth and Jaden open herself up like a delicate flower blossom.

Gina explored softly and sucked Jaden’s tongue into her mouth.  The girl moaned into Gina’s mouth, and her hold on Gina’s shoulders became a strong clinch.  Gina’s finger raked into the chopped white hair, and Gina thought she had never touched anything so soft. All of a sudden Jaden pushed herself into Gina, she clung harder and pushed again. Gina felt the shudder go through the young body.  She pulled away. Jaden was out of breath, and her body gave another shudder.  Gina lifted her easily and placed her sitting on the bed. 

Jaden just looked at her for a moment. 

“I did not know it could just happen with a kiss?”  Gina swallowed, then smiled softly, her eyes dark, but open and honest looking into blue once she could so easily get lost in. 

“It is not common, and it has never happened to me.  But that was an intense kiss, and you are an exceptional young woman, with much passion it seems.”  Jaden blushed. 

“No Gorgeous, no blushing, it is not something to be ashamed of, it is in fact very charming and quite wonderful.”

“Will it happen every time?”  _Oh, gods, I hope so_! Gina thought, she wondered how wet Jaden was, she could smell her arousal.  She had to use all of her strength not to do anything other than talking to this beautiful woman.  Her insides already made several summersaults.

“No, it won’t, that was just an exceptionally good kiss.”  This time Gina blushed.  Jaden smiled at that. 

“I think I need to go.”  Gina nodded and held her hand out as she stood, to pull Jaden up.

“Will I see you tomorrow?”

Jaden blushed again. “Perhaps it would be better if we skip a day?”  She asked it softly, scared of Gina’s reaction at the request.  Gina smiled and gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead.  “Okay, I will email you or something, if that is alright?”  Jaden smiled, “I would like that.” 

 

Gina let out a relieved breath. She smiled and took Jaden by the hand, leading her downstairs.  She called Regina, telling her that they were ready, the mayor gave them both a look, but said nothing.  The drive was not far, and Regina stayed in the car while Gina saw Jaden off at the front door.  She gave Jaden’s hand a small squeeze and a smile before she returned to the Mercedes. 

 

She had a young love smile on her face, and Regina did not know if she should be relieved or terrified.  Gina climbed into the passenger seat looking smug.  She locked the seatbelt into place and smiled at Regina before they started to move again.  “Do we need to have that conversation about sex again Miss Snow?”

“No Madam Mayor, you have pointed out your standing on the matter very clearly.”  Regina pulled the car over and looked at her. Regina’s face was grave.  “Gina I could smell her!”  Gina blushed.

“We did not have sex; I will need more than half an hour for that.”  She looked down.  “We kissed.”

“You kissed?  For the first time?”  Gina nodded. 

“And I can hardly help it if my kisses turn women on that considerably.”

Regina blushed slightly, but it was too dark for Gina to notice. 

 

“That is the problem Gina, you and Jaden are not women! You are fifteen!”  Regina let out a sigh. 

“I get teenage hormones, Gina, I do, but Elsa is a friend of mine, she is your doctor and psychologist, and I still don’t even know if you are gay or straight!”

“Really?”  Gina asked.  Regina gave her  _the_   _look_. Gina pulled her eyes wide.

“I thought it was obvious and that you of all people would know what my preference was?”

“Miss Snow!  Can we please get off that subject?”

“I apologize Mayor, but really?”

“So you like girls?”  Gina was on the point of complete frustration. 

“Regina, I am a lesbian, always have been and always will be.”  Regina stared at her.  “I am sorry, I did not mean to lose my temper Mayor, and I know it is new for you and Emma.  It is much harder if you are attracted to a woman, knowing you are straight than knowing you are gay.”

 _Alright_ , Regina thought, we will have this conversation. 

“What do you know about Emma and me?”

“You love each other, you want more, and she keeps on running away because that is what we do.”

“Orphans?”

Gina smiled, “That has nothing to do with it.  If you go to a meeting of ACA or ACoA, you will hear the same story.  As soon as you find happiness, you sabotage it one way or another.”

“ACA?”

“Adult children of Alcoholics.  It is a 12 step support group.  When you get raised in a dysfunctional home in your formative years all you know is dysfunction and chaos, you flourish in those situations, they are familiar, and you don’t just survive, you actually flourish.”

 

She fiddled with her hands, composing her thoughts. “Emma was abandoned as a baby, she grew up with dysfunction and then the first guy she trusts, abandons her as well, so, in her mind, she is unwanted and not worthy of love.  She was never adopted, so everything in her life confirms this belief.  She meets Killian, keeps him at arm's length until he breaks down the walls, and then he dies.  Death is just another form of abandonment.  All of this reconfirmed what she already believed.  She is unwanted and cannot be loved or give love, that is the reason why she gave Henry up for adoption.”

Gina took hold of Regina’s hand.  “You accepted her.  Your relationship was friendship, not a romantic one.  She knows that you love and accept her as a friend and that she is safe with you in that incredible bond you have, but you want to change the rules.”

“And she escapes to what she knows? That she is unwanted.”  Regina finished the sentence. “How the hell do you know all these things?”  Regina asked.

“Other people do not understand me, but I do.  I understand my shortcomings, my strengths, my limits.”

Regina took in a breath.  “And what will happen to you and Jaden, because that girl is smitten with you?”

Gina looked at her hands again.  “I do not know how to love very well.  Neal says I have a heart of steel.”

“You love Henry and Neal?”

“It is different.”

“Why?”  Regina asked confused.  Gina looked up at her with tears in her eyes. 

“That is a very complicated question Mayor.”  Regina gave her a break, she looked out the window, looking at the weather that took a turn for the worst during the day.  It was icy.

“What about me?”  Gina knew that they would eventually get back to the question of earlier that day.  It was an impossible situation to explain. Gina looked through the windscreen, but her mind was very far away...

 

**********

Regina was swinging the young child in circles, their arms holding on to each other.  Gina loved every moment.  Regina slowed down and let the girl land gently in the summer grass.  The fields were full of flowers, and in the distance, they could hear a stream running after the summer sun started to melt the snow in the mountains and valleys.  It was the perfect day.  Gina ran into the Queens' arms after she got up.  Regina was still a bit dizzy from all the swinging and the five-year-old unbalanced her enough so that they both fell onto the grass, Gina squealing with laughter. It was the sound in the entire Realm that Regina loved the most.  She was smiling, but her eyes were filling with tears.  She held the greatest blessing in all of time and space in her arms.  Gina kissed her on the cheek where a tear fell. The bright green eyes were looking at her. 

“Will you always be my best friend, Queen Reg?”  Regina smiled at the young face. 

“Always my Love, always.”

**********

Regina touched her.  Gina had no idea that the tears were streaming down her face because of the memory.  She knew at the age of five there were a lot of people she loved, but Regina was by far the one she loved the most.  There were days since her memories came back that she wished with all her heart that she could go back to moments like that with Regina, but the constant nightmares where a cruel reminder why it would never be that way again.  She wiped her tears.

 

“Gina?” Her voice was very soft. Gina looked at her, still crying.  Regina took her into an embrace, and the young girl willingly fell into it.  Her shoulders were shaking as she cried. Regina just kept holding on, and she did not try and soothe the hurt, she knew that for some reason Gina needed to feel this pain, whatever it was.  After a while, the crying slowed down, but Gina did not move from the embrace. 

Eventually, she pulled herself from Regina’s hold.  Her nose was sore. Her voice would all hoarse.  She wiped a tear and looked at Regina. The chocolate orbs, melting into the green once. Gina swallowed.  “You heard what I told Emma this morning?”  Regina nodded.

“Please pretend, just for a moment that everything I said was true?  That we lived in another time and place?”

Regina nodded her head again.  “In that place, I loved you Regina, more than I even loved my brother and he is my role model.” Regina felt the tears sting her eyes. 

“So to answer your question, I have always loved you, and I always will, it was only when my memories were gone when I did not remember who I was, I also did not remember you.  But now I do, and my feelings have not changed toward anyone in my life.”

“Is that why Henry and Neal were so upset with you?  You started to remember your life, before…”  She knew how crazy it was. Gina gave her a smile of acknowledgment.

“And what kind of love are we talking about?”  Regina asked carefully.

Gina looked out of the window. The tears streamed out of their own will. 

“We loved each other like a mother and child.”

Regina inhaled sharply.  She felt it.  She has felt it so many times over the last few months.  She knew there was a bond between them, but Gina’s explanation for it was a bit, well abnormal. 

“Gina, I am barren.”  Gina turned to her. 

“I know, Henry did not come from your womb either, is he any less your son?”

“No, of course not!”

“So if I tell you I have a mother and father, biological parents, but you raised me, that I have always seen you as my mother and that I have loved you that way from the start. Would you accept it?”

Regina swallowed, it was a lot to take in.  She wiped her tears.

“What did you call me back there?”

It was an odd question.  “Queen Reg.”

“Queen Reg?  I am a queen in this story world?”

Gina giggled.  “You are  _the_   _Queen_ , even in the White Kingdom they acknowledge you as Queen Regina.”

“The White Kingdom?”

“Yes, it once was to be yours, it was Leopold’s Kingdom, now it is Snow White’s.”  Regina went stiff at the mention of Leopold _.  How did Gina know things like that?  Only Archie and Emma knew about him_.  Gina caught on. 

“There is very little about your life that I do not know.  You can ask me any question, which I am not supposed to know, and I will have an answer for you.”  She emphasized the  _not supposed to know_  with quotations from her fingers. "I see." She was breathing deeply.   _What now?_

“What did I call you?” Gina’s voice was very soft and husky. 

“Little Gina.”

“As in Regina Jr.?” The woman next to her asked.  Gina just nodded.

 

Regina sat back in the seat.  This was even more to comprehend.   _Was Gina named after her or was she her child.  This story place had magic, perhaps, but no, Gina already said she had biological parents_.

It has been a while back that Emma pointed out to Regina that calling the girl little Gina seemed to have some emotional effect on her, that it made her calmer and more responsive to certain requests.

They both just sat there for a long time, comfortable in each other’s company, their thoughts all over the place.  Regina’s cell rang, it was Emma. 

“Yes, Miss Swan?”  She answered. Gina wanted to laugh. 

 _Gods, when are they going to stop this?’_ Gina could hear Emma rambling on the other side of the line.   _Shit, she forgot about the connection_.

 

This time she did smile as much as her sore face allowed it, kissing Jaden did not help, but at just that moment, she did not feel any pain. Emma’s emotions must be all over the place without her having any idea as to why. The previous connections were different, one was physical, which Gina thought might happen later tonight.  The connections were far apart; they were far apart at that time.  She checked her phone. There were several missed calls from Henry. Emma was in an emotional uproar.  She felt a little sympathy for the Sheriff, but if this was the price for getting Henry off her back, she was more than willing to pay it.

 

Regina ended the call.  “Apparently Emma is feeling a bit down.” Gina gave Regina her best fake concerned frown.  Regina tapped the steering wheel. 

“This would not have anything to do with what Henry asked you and the fact that you have removed your bracelet?”

Regina got a smile.   _Damn, this woman was smart_.

“It might.” She answered. Regina looked at her sadly, and Gina caught onto her mood swing immediately.

“Your rape…Emma felt it, didn’t she?" Gina’s tone was respectful when she answered.

“I did not know Madam Mayor. I did not know about the connection or that it was stronger when I do not have the bracelet on.  I would never do that to anyone on purpose. She knows…” Gina had to swallow. This was still hard.  “She knows about the connection and the rape, and that I did not know or mean for her to get hurt in any way.”  Regina believed her.  Not only would she not lie about something so serious. As a rape victim herself, she knew no woman would ever wish that upon another.

“Henry asked you to do this on purpose?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“He wants her to remember who she is,” Gina answered disapproving.

“The Savior?”  Gina thought about it.   “No, he wants her to remember her power, who she is and what she said before the Dark Curse was cast.”

“You know what Emma said, why don’t you just tell him?”

“I can’t….”

“Why?”  Gina looked up at her, and the tears were back, she hated being so emotional.

“Please don’t ask me?  I do not want to have to lie to you, straight to your face.”  Regina nodded her understanding.

“Will this hurt Emma, like last time?” Gina could not look at her. 

“The only way I can protect Emma from not getting hurt is if I do not go to sleep tonight.”

“She will share your dreams….” Regina finally understood.  Henry knew what Gina’s nightmares were about and he wanted Emma to know too.  Their shared conscience will give him the answer as to how to break the curse.  That is why he was looking for her, helping her that is how he knew her, it was from this other world. He wanted to go back there.

“You don’t want to go back,” Regina stated.  “What by the gods happened that you are too scared to go back?”

“Can we please just go home?” Gina asked in a whisper.


	23. The ingredient that was not planned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wondered for 22 chapters how Gina became the dark one? Some answers are revealed. Hope this chapter lives up to expectation. Enjoy and thank you for the continued support.

**Chapter 23**

Emma finally fell asleep in the guest bedroom.  The boys had hardly spoken to Gina as if it was all her fault that one moment Emma was over the moon and the next she was crying for no reason.  Regina tugged Emma in herself.  After Gina’s lengthy explanation, she could look back and see every time Emma did something to push people away from her.  She still could not get around the fact that all of Gina’s explanations were from another world.

She decided to check in on Gina.  She was sitting in the middle of her bedroom floor.  Regina did not disturb her. She knew that Gina often meditated to keep herself calm.

She went to her bedroom, laying in her silk nighty between her silk sheets, thinking.  She thought about Emma and how much she would like her here, next to her. And Gina, the things she told her, the complexity of the situation.  Either all of them were nuts, but if there were some truth to it, what then?  What were they like, if they were not cursed?

 

Gina was breathing deeply to calm herself, and she concentrated on a specific point in time.  Merlin appeared next to her.  She was in her black and silver Dark One cape.  She lifted her cape and looked at Merlin.  “Why did you come?” His accent was light and his demeanor calm. “Seriously?”

“I cannot help you Dark One.”

Gina watched him.  “So this is for me to carry alone, not only alone but to carry the burden of so many people?”

“You know what the answer is Gina. Your fear is keeping you from doing it.”

“My fear?  And you do not think that that is a justifiable reason?  Do you remember what happened the last time I lost control of the Dark One’s power?”

“I do, but this is different.” He answered calmly.

“How is this different?  Are you dense?  I was six, I was still loved, I was innocent, and I blew up an entire forest nuclear style!  What do you think will happen now, after ten years of abuse and anger? What do you think will happen this time if I lose control over the Dark One’s power?” They were ready to continue their philosophical discussion when Emma all of a sudden appeared.  All dressed up in her rags and cream Dark One cape.  “Great, what the hell is she doing here?” Gina asked.

 

“Do I need to explain that to you again?”  Gina thought about his words. “When the body is busy, the mind wanders.  She is sleeping.”  Merlin bowed his head.  “I am grateful that you are sometimes listening little Gina.” Emma was looking around.  They were in an open green field, it was beautiful, but she was confused.  Not only as to where she was but as to what she was wearing.  “Where on earth am I?”

“You are dreaming Sheriff, so stay calm or lie down before you hurt yourself.”

“Who is that?”  Merlin took on a casual stance; he was waiting for Gina to explain this one.  Gina showed her irritation at the blonde.  “Sheriff, I am kind of in the middle of something.”

“Tell me, Gina, why did you pick Emma and me?”  He got an  _ugh_  as an answer.  Gina sat down on the lush green grass.  “You know exactly why I picked you and Emma.”

“Yes, but Emma does not know.” He stated

“Emma does not need to know,” Gina answered irritably.

“Emma is standing right here, and she wants to know!” Gina looked at her.  “You really don’t.”

“What am I doing in your dream?” Emma asked.

“Actually Emma,” She stretched the name over pronouncing the m's. “You are dreaming, and right now, you are in my subconscious, and I do not want you here, so why don’t you just leave?”

“And there is your problem.” Merlin pointed out. “You need to forgive Emma.”

“Forgive me?  Why what did I do?” The Sheriff asked all offended.

 

“It is more about what you did not do, but that is beside the point. It is not so much about forgiving you as it is about restoring a relationship that does not exist! Why can no one understand that?”  Gina asked frustrated.

“Forgiveness will be the first step.” Merlin continued.

“And what, you have the other eleven all worked out?” Gina snapped sarcastically.

He shrugged his shoulders.  “You called me remember?”

“Who is this man?” Emma questioned once more. 

“You really do not remember him?  Even here?” Emma shook her head.  “This is Merlin.” Gina introduced.

“Merlin like in the Legend of King Arthur, Merlin?”

“Do you know of any other Merlin?” Emma shook her head.

“You are still avoiding the inevitable Gina.  Why did you pick Emma and me?”

“Because you are the only two of all the Dark One’s that had conceit over the Darkness!”

Merlin disappeared, and Gina was stuck with Emma.  “I am going now, sleep tight!”

“Wait!” Emma asked.  Gina turned to her reluctantly. “I am a Dark One?  I thought I was the Savior?”

 

Gina’s voice was husky and soft again.  “Remember when I told Henry that you and Regina had forgotten? That you made the ultimate sacrificed for Regina. That this was what you needed to remember, some of your dark times?”

Emma nodded.  “Rumpelstiltskin, died, as a man, the Darkness needed to connect to either the most powerful or most dark person closest to it.  It attacked the Sorceresses apprentice, and you cast it out with your magic.”

“I have magic?”

“Stay on point Miss Swan.  The Darkness then attacked Regina, you Savior, you took that burden from her and became the next Dark One. And thus, we have this…connection” She said the last word with much venom as if the mere thought repulsed her.  Emma was wondering again why this kid at moments seemed to despise her.  Emma looked at her. She knew Gina was telling the truth.  She was looking into her eyes when both of them slowly faded out of the world they found themselves in.

 

Gina was breathing deeply as she found herself sitting on the carpet in her bedroom.  What just happened was completely unexpected.  She only hoped that Emma would think it a strange dream when she wakes up in the morning.  She scratched her head and looked at the clock next to her bed.  It was two in the morning. She knew she was not going to last much longer.  Here she was not the Dark One, and even if she slept little, she needed some rest.  She only hoped that the dreams would be kind to the Sheriff. 

 

Gina’s mind so used to the nightmare that her body, over time responded to it differently when she was not under sedation.  It was always in that last moment that she would scream and then wake up. Only then did she remember the awfulness of her life. 

Emma was experiencing the dream completely different.  Her heart rate was up like Gina’s in the hospital; she perspired and was rolling around in the queen-size bed trying to stop everything from what was happening.

 

**The Enchanted forest 10 years ago**

Fiona’s army of trolls, ogres, and ghouls was breaking through the defenses of the White Kingdom.  They were close. Maleficent and Lilith were flying over the army, blazing fire among them, keeping a safe distance from the giants and ogres. Everyone had hoped that the two dragons would inflict more damage, but they were not fighting a regular army. 

Elsa placed a wall of ice around the Castle itself.  It was high and thick.  It was literary the last line of defense.  Everyone that could fight was on or near the wall, shooting arrows at the unstoppable force.  Snow White was still the most accurate with a bow.  With every aim she took down an ogre, feeling like ten more came in behind him. Robin found the same thing, but he kept on pulling arrows from his quiver, standing next to his Merry men.   They have been fighting off the Black Fairy for nearly seven years, this battle; this last plan was their only chance.

Snow watched Charming where he was fighting off a harpy they were attacking from the air, trying to break through the first line of defense.  Snow White was glad that Fiona decided to attack during the day.  At night, all forms of other mystical creatures that the Black Fairy could gather with the promise that they would rule the land after this, attacked.  It felt to all of them that no one has slept in seven years, ever since Emma broke the Black Fairy’s curse. 

Fiona herself was unrecognizable.  With the Dark One power that she took from her son and the abuse of that power, the once beautiful black haired woman was now hideous looking.  Her face was black, the once brown eyes emerged in pools of darkness, and her skin had the same scaled features that her son had.  She was a frightful sight. 

 

The night before as the assessment was made of their situation and their resolve to survive and win, the council, set up, to represent every Kingdom and Realm that was under attack. Everyone knew that the White Kingdom was the strongest.  It had the most powerful magic of all the Realms, and even with all their magical powers combined, they had little chance.  So the decision was taken, all the Realms readied themselves for the Dark Curse.  Orders were given, and anyone with magic was at the White Palace. 

Queen Regina and the Evil Queen were busy preparing the Dark Curse.  The Wicked Witch of the West was standing guard, protecting her sisters, in case Fiona discovered their secret. 

The Blue Fairy with her army was trying to counter Fiona’s black magic from the black fairy dust with their fairy dust.  Turning creatures of all sorts, back into farmers and artisans.  There was a passage in the ice wall that Queen Elsa created and any human or animal that could make it there had a means of escape.  Queen Regina enchanted the entrance days ago, in order for only friends of the White Kingdom to pass through the passage to the safety of the castle.

 

Emma and the three other witches of Oz were blazing their power and magic at the force slowly marching towards their last stand.  They were all exhausted. Tiny, the giant had joined them, and he threw boulders at any and everything that came into sight.  He found a seed, after looking all over the Realms, he cared for it, kept it secret and now everyone had a magical-bean in their possession as a backup plan, in case Emma failed.

The call came from Grumpy. The retreat was sounded, everyone started to fall back to the Palace.   Emma and Snow got a few more shots in before they grabbed each other's hands and jumped off the wall on to a slide Elsa made for just that moment.

 

It was only then that Fiona realized something was amiss.  Emma and Snow ran all the way to the great hall, where everyone was waiting and ready. Queen Regina nodded to her.  Emma took over the stirring of the ingredients of the massive pot.  They doubled up on everything to include the other realms.  She nodded, each of the leaders placed a lock of their hair into the brew.  Emma looked at Killian, and he gave her his dashing smile.  He was ready.  One way or another he was ready.  Emma has saved his life many times. He has literary escaped death a few times.  Gina made her way to Queen Regina, she was holding on to the queen’s hand, before Regina pushed her gently towards the Evil Queen, who held the child in front of her, her arms placed protectively over the young princess.

 

Regina nodded to Emma.  Emma smiled at her, and it was a sad smile.  She never thought she would do this.  This would be their fate, yet again.  Storybrook and the new Realms within it was already created in everyone’s minds.  She concentrated on every detail, how it would be, who will have their memories and powers and who will not.  She sprinkled some of her hair into the cauldron.  With that, they were all ready.  Neal was standing by his mother, holding her hand, Henry was looking at all of them, not knowing if his path would take him with them.

Regina walked closer to Emma, they both had tears in their eyes.  Emma swallowed, she loved Killian, but she hoped that they were using the right loved one’s heart, not that she would ever admit to anyone, this fear she had.  Regina embraced her, holding on tight.  She stepped back and pulled Emma’s heart out of her chest.  Emma inhaled at the pain.  Her heart was glittering red, beating strong in Regina’s hands.  Killian walked over to Emma.  He kissed her passionately.  Regina was already in the process of splitting Emma’s heart.  Emma kissed him with all the passion and love she felt. Tears were streaming down her face, she pulled back and plucked his heart out.  He fell backwards, breathing hard.  His heart was strong, but it still had some black spots on it.  Emma smiled at him, loving him as she crushed his heart into the cauldron, adding the last of the ingredients to invoke the Dark Curse.  Regina immediately placed one-half of Emma’s heart back in her chest.  She was about to do the same for Killian when Fiona appeared in the great hall. She sent out a burst of magic to blast them all meters away from the brewing pot.  The smoky mist of the Curse was already boiling over the sides. 

 

“You are too late daemon!” Emma said as she blasted her with her white magic.  They all knew that they had to keep Fiona away from the pot and occupied long enough, for the curse to take its course. Magic was flying from all directions.  Regina and the Evil Queen combined their magic to be stronger, the red and the purple striking Fiona from one side, Emma from another with her white light, the four witches of Oz blasting her with their combined powers. Elsa was desperately putting up ice walls to provide cover for every one against the black blasts from Fiona.

Henry’s hand was shaking as he recorded the story, begging the Sorcerer to allow him to change the outcome.  Snow and Charming were fending off creatures that came in with Fiona.  Everyone was in a battle with the Dark One.  

 

Gina and Neal were the only two that were just looking on as everyone they loved placed in danger by the Black Bitch.  Gina did not even realize how the anger was rising within her.  She was looking at the spot where Killian was still lying.  _How long will he survive without Emma’s heart?  Where was Reg_?  Panic build up in the young girl. She felt anger rising in her, her eyes changed from green to bright silver, and when she moved from behind one of the ice blocks Elsa had set up, she was radiating with light.  No one noticed.  They were all too occupied with saving and protecting each other.  Fiona noticed.  The new power she felt was strong, white and innocent.  It had potential, so much potential to be purer than the Savior or Darker than her own heart.  She smiled, looking for the innocent power, in its white form it was the worst combination for someone as black as she was, she turned to see who the new arrival was, her mind kept on looking for this great enemy. 

 

When the blast of silver streamed from Gina’s hands and heart, it threw Fiona through the air.  No one looked from where the new power came, all that they knew was that for the first time in almost seven years, Fiona was defeated back.  Regina was the first to see.  Her heart clenched in pain. “No!” _Dear gods, please not my girl!_   She told the Evil Queen through their mental link that she was going to protect Gina.  The Evil Queen did not skip a beat; she just continued to blast at Fiona that was backed into a corner, they all were.  Regina was busy running over to Gina when it happened.   _All magic comes with a price!_   It was a price none of them anticipated, expected or wanted.

 

Gina knew all the stories.  How Emma and Regina met, how brave Henry was to bring the Savior to Storybrook, she read everything, from Cinderella and Snow White to the unfortunate life of Rumpelstiltskin, his mother, and father.  So during the fight when she saw the dagger, she knew what it was, she did not understand its power, but she knew what it was.  She knew how Belle got tricked into handing over the dagger to a traitor of the White Kingdom and therefore Fiona was in control of her fate. When Gina saw the dagger fall to the ground, she swept it up with her right hand, while still blasting the Black Fairy with her left hand.  The dagger flew through the air, Regina was yelling at the top of her voice “No!”, but the dagger plunged straight into the heart of the Black Fairy.

 

As she fell, all the magic stopped.  Emma turned her head for the first time in the direction from where the silver blast came.  Her heart stopped, her  _No!_  echoed through the hall together with Regina and the rest of their family.  Gina had no idea why everyone was looking so upset.  Fiona was dead, that was all that mattered, the family, the Kingdom and all the Realms were safe.  Regina was clinging to her, crying, holding her, promising her that everything will be alright.  Emma made her way over to them, promising much the same, holding onto her, holding on to Regina.  Gina touched both their faces, her eyes green again and full of love. 

 

Fiona let out her last breath.  The Darkness emerged from her, looking for its new master.  Emma and Regina tried to hold the Darkness back, both tried to call it to them, but it filled Gina. She felt the rush of power filling her, the lives and memories of all the Dark One’s crashing through her mind, she screamed and then for a fraction of time and space, everything slowed down.  She looked at Emma and Regina with all the love she had for them.  “Take care of each other.” She did not know how much time she had.

Emma and Regina held onto her, their tears mixing, their love radiating. “I will never stop looking for you.” Emma made the promise, Regina was crying unstoppably by now. “We will be a family again; I swear that to you!” Gina’s hands were slightly glowing, wiping their tears and her own, holding hands with them for one last time.

The Darkness blasted them back while the last of it was consuming Gina’s Soul. The last thing they heard was Gina’s blood-chilling scream.  “Mama! 

 

Emma and Regina went to work; Regina placed the half of Emma’s heart back in Killian’s chest.  Nothing happened.  “Emma!”  Emma landed on her knees next to Killian.  She gave him true loves kiss.  Nothing happened.  Without warning, Regina plucked both half hearts out, placed them back together again and placed the full heart into Emma’s chest.

“I am sorry Emma; it is too late for him.  They both got up and turned to the caldron.  The mist was spreading fast, they held each other’s hands, and Emma whispered the promise they made to Gina, then the one ingredient that was not planned, fell into the Dark Curse. 

 

Emma looked at her brother and mother begging them both with their eyes. Snow sadly nodded and took out her bean and placed it into Neal’s hand.  “Go to Camelot, find Gina and bring her to the Land of No Magic.  Storybrook is in Maine, America.  Do you understand?” He nodded and hugged his mother.  Emma gave him the dagger. “Neal, please bring her back? I know it is so much to ask you, but please find her?”

Regina was almost crying too much to get a word out, but she held on to Neal, telling him where to go, where he would find her, how to protect her and how to use the dagger.  “Neal, please be brave and bring her back?”  She kissed him, so did Emma and Snow.  He threw his bean to the ground and disappeared through the green portal.  Henry looked up at his mother. The curse was moving fast now, they were out of time.  He opened The Author door and disappeared.

Everyone gathering in the great hall.  The Mills sisters were holding, each other.  Emma clinging to Killian’s body, Snow and Charming in an embrace, they all paid a terrible price for their freedom today.  The curse hit, enveloping them all.

 

Emma jerked up in bed, her voice loud, screaming nooo! At the top of her lungs.


	24. Okay, I think that is enough sharing for one day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, a part of this chapter is quoted from Season 4 Episode 23 Operation Mongoose Part 2.  
> Some bad language and another fight.
> 
> Thank you for the continued support.

**Chapter 24**

 

Gina was out of her bed as soon as she heard Emma scream.  Her leg might look healed, but the was muscles still not used to quick movement or exercise.  She made her way to the guest bedroom.  She was the last to arrive.  Henry and Neal were standing to the side while Regina was on the bed trying to console Emma.  The anger boiled in Gina.  The dream was longer. There were more details, she felt Emma’s unrest as the trouble of ten years ago played themselves out.

She had no idea what all Emma would remember or feel.  _Would she remember how to break the curse_?  Gina stood helplessly looking at the two women.  She turned to Henry, her green eyes gone, the darkness of the Dark One shattering through the silver. She struck him in the face hard enough for him bounced against the wall and landed on the floor. 

 

“Is this what you wanted?  Putting her through all that pain?  Are you fucking happy now you fucking selfish brat!”  She knew with the outburst her voice would be gone.  “Get the fuck out of here, both of you.  She slammed the door behind them and turned her attention to the two women.

She walked over to the bed and touched Regina’s shoulder.  “Can you get her something strong and add a few spoons of sugar into it?”  Regina got up reluctantly leaving Emma.  Emma looked bewildered as Regina left. 

 

“Emma?  Emma look at me?” Gina sat on the bed and drew the blondes’ attention.  “Emma!”  She said louder, the green eyes met hers.

“I’m so sorry, Gina I am so sorry, please forgive me, I am sorry.”  She started to cry, sobs that have been held in for far too long ripped through her body.  Gina held her; she held her tight.  At the end of the day, it was not any one person's fault.  Gina could blame a hundred people, from the Blue Fairy to Tiger Lilly, which banished Fiona and started all of this, right through to Emma, Regina, and Henry.   _What would be the use_?  They all made decisions, they all did what they thought they should, and all it left them with was endless heartache.

“Emma? Look at me please?”  Regina came back in with half a glass of whiskey. Gina took it from her.  “Here Emma, come drink this.”  She took the glass with the amber liquid between both hands and drank it with shaking movement.  The sad green eyes never left Gina’s. 

“I killed Killian.”  She whispered as the last drop burned down her throat.

“No Emma, Fiona did that.”  The tears were running down her face again, and Gina was wiping them as they fell. 

“I killed you.” Gina sat back and looked at her. 

“Emma, no one knew, not even Regina, I did not know, it just happened, alright? No one thought about it; no one knew where I was when the Black Fairy’s struck, it just happened. No one is to blame.”  Gina could hardly believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. 

_Was this it?  Was her fear of seeing this woman in pain stronger than her anger towards her?  Was she giving Emma her forgiveness, was it because they were talking?  Was it because Emma could remember?_

“What do you remember?”  Gina asked with urgency.

Emma looked at her. “Only the dream.”  Gina did not know if she was relieved or disappointed.  “So no other curse or life here in Storybrook before?”  Emma shook her head.  “Do you remember being with me on the field?”  Emma’s eyes opened wide.  “That was real?”

“Yes.”

“Gina, I do not understand.  All I feel now is that I have let you down somehow.  I should have protected you, that you are important... You loved me?  You loved Killian?”  Gina swallowed.  She was not ready to go there.

“Yes, I did.  But it does not matter right now.  What matters now is that you and the Mayor know that I am not crazy that the curse is real and that it cannot be broken.  All you need to do now is convince your son.” 

She got up and looked at Regina.  “I need to get that bracelet back on,” Regina spoke for the first time.  “Henry and Neal went to get it for you; all of this scared them.”

“Good!”  Gina said with much anger.  “Now please get your son of my fucking back?  The curse cannot be broken.”  She took a deep breath.  “Mayor, may I, please go to the boathouse, Henry and Neal will not be able to retrieve the bracelet.”

“But they know the combination?”

“Perhaps,” Gina said, “But one of the first things you ever taught me about magic was never to use blood magic to protect things that have power in the wrong hands.  The safe is sealed with a spell.  They won’t be able to get in.”

Regina’s mind was spinning, she did not want to ask too many questions.  In a day, her entire world changed. She was having conversations about magic and other Realms as if it was the most natural thing on Earth.

 

She received an SMS while she was driving Gina to the boathouse. “They could not get the safe open. Even using blood magic.” Gina snorted. 

“Neal is taking Henry to the hospital, his face swelled up, and he might need stitches.”

“Sorry,” Gina said without sounding sorry at all.  Regina was anxious, and it was getting on Gina’s nerves. “Oh, for gods sake, stop acting like the world is coming to an end.  You are Queen Regina, the one woman who no one fucks with, pull yourself together!”

 

Regina parked by the main road, and the two of them walked the short distance to the house.  Gina opened up the floorboard where she hid the orange-red vile and moved over to the bed.  She moved the mattress and poured a drop on the safe, then on her hand.  It was only then that Regina noticed that the magic fire tattoo was gone.  Gina placed her left hand on the safe and inhaled sharply.  The red flaming triangle reappeared on her hand, and she quickly flicked the combination to the safe.  She took out the bracelet and the puzzle box.  She let out a breath when she slipped the ring on her finger and clicked the bracelet in place.  It was a relief.  She was safe, and Emma would be safe as well.  She pushed the sides of the puzzle box and when it opened Regina wanted to ask, but she changed her mind.   _Did she want to know_?

“It is the flame of Prometheus.  The last of it anyway.  He stole the fire from the Olympian gods to give to man.”

“I know the legend,” Regina said softly.

Gina turned to her. “Have you ever seen a flame like this?” Regina shook her head.  “It is not a legend Mayor, most of the myths are our history, and we have only forgotten it.”

She placed the vial back in the box, took out one that looked like quicksilver, she placed a single drop on the bracelet before she placed it back and sealed the box again.  She closed the safe and turned to Regina. 

“They say seeing is believing?  Are you a believer now?”  Regina had no idea what to make from any of it. “You need to go to the hospital; I will meet you back at the house.”  Before Regina could say anything, Gina flicked her wrist and disappeared before Regina’s eyes in a puff of silver mist.

 

She re-materialized in front of Emma’s door.  She knocked and walked in.  The Sheriff was still in a state.  Gina took a seat on the bed.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about it? Gina, my mind cannot even grasp the fact that this, your dream is our past!”

“At least you are taking it better than the Mayor.”

“Is she alright?”  Gina shrugged at Emma's question and answered.  “She will be.”

“Did I really give my life to save hers?”  Gina thought about it for a moment.  “Take my hand?”  Emma looked at the outstretched right hand, the bracelet back in place.  Her breath was short, she did not know if she was ready for this.  Gina tried very hard to hide her annoyance.  She still had not come down from her anger blast at Henry.

“This is one of your memories.  It will not hurt, it will not have any effect on you because it is yours and you will see it while you are awake.”

She took Gina’s hand.  She inhaled the moment they touched.  She saw herself, Killian, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, and Robin standing in the middle of Main Street.  She felt the ominous atmosphere.  They were all looking around, the Darkness came and enveloped Regina, Robin yelled.

Emma looked on helplessly as the Dark One curse swallowed Regina, Robin asked what the darkness was doing. 

“What darkness does, it snuffs out the light,” Emma answered.  He tried to be a hero and got his ass kicked by the swirls of blackness that was devouring Regina. 

“That is not going to work on this thing, the Apprentice told me, we have to do what the Sorcerer did, and we have to tether it to a person to contain it.”  Emma knew instantly what had to be done, and she ran towards Regina.

Mary Margret yelled Emma’s name and David had to hold his wife back.  When Regina saw her coming, she started to cry. “No!” Regina’s voice was strong, and she looked at Emma.   Emma looked into Regina’s eyes. She has never seen Regina scared, but this scared her.  Emma had the dagger.  She was the Savior; she could not allow this to happen. 

She faced Regina. “There has to be another way,” Regina yelled at her through tears and the storm of Darkness around them. 

“There isn’t,” Emma had her own tears, her heart feeling something that was unfamiliar to her. “You have worked too hard to have your happiness destroyed.” 

She readied herself to strike when David yelled “No!”  Emma turned to him and Mary Margaret.  “You figured out how to take the Darkness out of me once. I need you to do it again. As heroes.” Regina was starting to succumb to the black energy around her.  Hook ran up to Emma.  “Emma, Emma, please? No, don’t do this?”  She looked at him, his eyes sad, she hesitated to say the words she was not ready to say because she did not know if it was true.

“I love you.” She told him, but pushed him away from her and struck the Darkness to save Regina.

 

She watched herself, in the dream, as she struck the Darkness with the Dark One dagger, without hesitation, and with force.  The black energy circled around her arm and consumed her, slowly pulling away from Regina, finally releasing her. Regina looked at Emma in amazement. She did not understand at all why the blonde saved her, why she made this sacrifice? For a moment, it looked as if Regina wanted to take back the Darkness, which for her, Emma’s sacrifice was too much. Time slowed down, and all Emma could see was Regina.  When finally all the Darkness was swirling around her, Robin was holding Regina.  Regina’s eyes never for one second left Emma’s.  Everything they felt for each other was reflected through their tears and in their eyes.  Emma knew she made the right choice. In the vision, she saw the Darkness sweep her away and the Dark One dagger shattering to the ground, the name engraved on it,  **Emma Swan**.

 

Gina released her hand.  Emma looked at her as if she understood her entire life at just that moment.  “You said we had forgotten our dark times.  Why is it so important?”  Gina looked at her pensively; the poor woman has been through a lot in one day.

 

“ _Light thinks it travels faster than anything, but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first and is waiting for it_. Sir Terry Pratchett.”  Gina quoted. 

“There can only be light if there is darkness. It is the natural law of all things. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. You cannot love someone as intensely as you and Regina love each other if you have never had to share the pain.”  She took Emma's hand. 

“Emma, Regina not only loves you but she will also sacrifice herself, just as you have for her.  You have done it many times in the past.  Something went wrong with this last curse.  You were all supposed to have your memories. You need to accept that this woman will never let you go and that she will be with you, despite the fact that you are so full of shit.” 

For the first time that morning, Emma smiled. “There is my stubborn Sheriff.”  She stood up.  “I will make you some cocoa.  See you down stairs?” 

She left Emma.   _Why the hell did she do that?  Was it because she wanted to see Regina happy or was it Merlin who planted the seed of forgiveness in her head?  The question remained what now?_ Emma came down to the kitchen, and she looked much better, she had showered and dressed.

Gina assumed that she had questions; she only hoped she did not ask  _the_ question.  She was not ready to answer that.  She gave Emma her cocoa, they both sat back to relax when they heard it.  Emma looked at her.  It was the bell above the library in the Storybrook tower. “What is that?”

Gina sighed.  “It means that time is no longer standing still in Storybrook. Your son will be over the moon”.  She did not sound impressed at all.  “How did it happen?”  Emma asked confused.  

“I do not know. Something happened last night, obviously. Maybe because you are starting to believe, I don’t know.”

 

Regina, Henry, and Neal heard the bell as they walked out of the hospital. “What is that?” Regina asked.  “It is the Bell Tower. Time has started again in Storybrook.”  Henry answered.

 _Great_ , Regina thought,  _whatever that meant_.  Henry received five stitches, and one-half of his face was completely swollen. He looked terrible.  When she saw him, her first thought was that it would seem that this sibling rivalry would never stop between the three.  She could not remember that she and her sisters had the same issues, but then again, she remembers little of their childhood.

 

Everything was different in the house the moment they walked in.  Henry went to check on Emma.  Gina was sitting with her in the kitchen drinking coffee. The two ignored each other.  It was not like before where there were apologies and hugs and eventual make ups.  Henry thought for a moment that if it were Regina instead of Emma, he would most likely be dead.  The two boys stayed away from Gina after that.  They did not ask her questions. They did not ask about the dream; they did not even dare to ask Emma what she remembered.

Regina sat with Emma, holding her face in her hands, looking into her eyes, while scanning for any injuries or lingering distress with contemplative, worried eyes.  Emma took her hand and held it.  Gina saw the move and mumbled something as she left the kitchen. 

 

A silent tear made its way down Emma’s cheek.  Regina wiped it.

“Are you alright Emma?” She nodded.

She inhaled. “As bad as that dream was, Gina, did show me a few things.  I still cannot believe that we are cursed and living in a time trap.”

Regina smiled at her.  “I know, Gina did magic in front of me, and my mind is still telling me that I imagined it.”

Emma turned in her seat, taking hold of Regina’s hands.

“What I did learn, is that whatever we have, it has been there for a very long time.” She looked down, and this was much harder than what she anticipated.  She looked back into Regina’s brown eyes, all she saw there were love and acceptance. It nearly broke Emma’s heart,  _how could she have been so blind and self-indulged not to see it_?

“So what do you want to do now Miss Swan?” Regina’s voice was soft and husky. It hit Emma right in her lower extremities.  She was breathing hard.  Her green eyes were lost in the dreamy chocolate eyes.  She never could tell who kissed who first, she just knew with that kiss, all resolve and all her fears melted away.  She loved Regina, she has for a long time, and now she would make up for the years of neglect.

 

She felt Regina’s warm body melting with her own.  She pushed the dark woman back into the counter and bent slightly down to capture her perfect mouth.  Even after all the chaos of the morning, Regina was a vision of perfection. She opened her mouth slightly, and Emma did not need more encouragement than that.  She pulled the woman into her by her dark mane and entered her mouth, not too gently.  Her hunger for this woman was now overwhelming.  With all the fear dissipating, she could give herself over completely, and she did.  It was not just the physical attraction; at that moment Emma felt like she would stop breathing if she did not have Regina.  Her mind could not comprehend how she managed to live without this woman’s touch.  _How could she be so close and yet so far for so long_?

 

The kiss was intense, Regina could feel the difference.  She could feel that Emma no longer had any reservation.  She moaned into Emma’s mouth as their tongues started to play for dominance.  Emma had a new confidence, she pressed Regina harder into the counter, parting her legs with one knee and positioning herself there. She pressed her need into Regina’s, both women moaned, clinging to each other, breathing hard, Regina could feel her hips moving out of their own volition. Gods, she has been waiting for this so long.  She pulled back.  Holding Emma at a distance with her hands on the blondes’ chest.  She held her head back, looking at the ceiling and Emma’s mouth was watering to bite into the slender, exposed neck.

When her breathing was finally under control, she looked at Emma with lustful eyes that looked like they wanted to strip her naked.  Emma’s wetness doubled, and she had to work hard to abide by Regina’s silent request to stop.

“If we are going to take it to the next level, Miss Swan, I at least expect you to take me out to dinner.” She said it with a heavy breath, kissed Emma on the cheek and left to see what was happening to their children.  Emma was pressing her legs together to rid herself of the ache that was there.  It did not work too well, but she did manage to make it back to her room, to handle the situation she was in.

 

The boys were sitting in the lounge. Neither talking. Not that Henry could say much.  Gina hit him harder in one go than he did with two.  He always knew she was one not to take on, but he did not expect the reaction that he got.  Even as a child, Gina has never defended Emma like that. It made him grateful again that it was not Regina.

Regina looked at them.  “No making up this time?”

“I crossed a line Mom.  Gina will forgive me if and when she does.  There is nothing I can do.  Nothing changed.  The curse did not break.  Maybe Gina is right. This one cannot be broken.”

She went to Gina’s room. She was busy sharpening one of her knives.  Regina knew it was a method to keep her calm.  “May I sit?” 

Gina took in a breath, “Of course Mayor.”

“Gina, don’t you think after everything we have been through the last few days that you can at least look at me and call me Regina?”

 

Gina did not look up. Her hands were working methodically. A single tear made its way down her cheek. Regina moved her head slightly.   _All right she thought, she would drop the matter_.  

“How is your hand?”  Gina did not even think about it if it was sore, she did not realize it.  She looked at it now, when Regina asked. It looked fine. Not like the time she nearly beat a tree to death.  “My hand is fine thank you, Mayor.”

Regina turned her head and looked out the window.  Elsa was correct; it felt like for every step one took towards Gina, you took several steps back after any incident.

“What will you be doing now?”

“Have you spoken to Henry?”

“A little, he is starting to think that you are right, that the curse cannot be broken.”  Gina breathed a bit easier.

“He said he crossed a line... What did he mean?”  Gina looked up.  All three of them have.  That was the reason as of late that they all had some kind of injury.

“We have a rule, Family above all. He broke it last night. The way I did with you.”   _Family?_  Regina thought.

“Gina, there is something else…” Regina did not get further. 

Gina jumped up.  “Please don’t ask, not that question, not after what I told you?” She looked at Regina pleading. “The answer is you, always you.”

 

The next day, everyone tried to act as normal as what they could.  Gina checked in on Emma several times during the night to make sure that she was sleeping.  She knew from her own experiences that it was hard to sleep after one of the bad once.  It seemed however that Emma slept fine.  She found Henry in the hallway twice; she did not say a thing to him.  The next morning she was in the kitchen her usual time, she did not sleep, just in case she still had a link to Emma. She was making coffee and breakfast as if none of the events of the past few days ever happened.

 

Henry was up first.  She gave him his cocoa and a breakfast consisting of everything. He ate slowly. Gina looked at him and shook her head. 

“After breakfast, you need to ask mom if we can go to the boathouse for half an hour or so.  I’m still grounded, but if I send you back to Rapz like that, she will kill me.”

Henry took the olive branch.  “Mom says you have magic.”  Gina shook her head as she got Regina’s coffee ready, she was expecting her at any moment.

“Not really, just learned from every Dark One before me to have a backup plan.”

Henry nodded and left it at that.  Regina heard them talk, she did not hear what they said, but at least they were talking again.  They were a sight.  Gina still had dark purple marks under her eyes, and Henry’s one eye was completely swollen shut _.  How did she manage to hit him so hard with one punch?_

“Morning.”  She said to both and kissed them.  Gina handed her the coffee.  “Thank you.” 

To Henry she said.  “Do you feel the way you look?”  He shook his head lightly. “Feels worse, I forgot how hard she could hit.”  Gina ignored him and continued to drink her coffee.  “Have you checked in on the Sheriff?”  She asked Regina.

“Yes, she is still sleeping.”

“Good, would you like an omelet or some poached eggs this morning Mom?”

Regina kept her head down and to the side as if she was very interested in her morning paper.  Henry heard it too. He did the same.  Regina wondered if it was a slip of the tongue or if Gina made some kind of peace with herself last night.  “I would love one of your omelets Honey.”

 

Gina carried on, oblivious as to the increase in heart rate from Regina, she dared to look at the girl while her back was towards them, and then she looked at Henry.  He just shrugged.  While Gina was dishing up for Regina, he approached his mother.  “Mom, I know Gina is grounded, but we need to go to the boathouse this morning, may we please?”  She rubbed her thumb and forefinger together while she thought about it.  “How long will you be?”

“If we walk,” He looked at Gina, he had no idea what it was that she wanted or needed.

“If you would be kind enough to drive us, it will take five minutes. Then you can lock me in my tower again?”

Regina tapped her fingers on the counter, Gina gave her a small smile.  She could hear when it was a serious tap or like now, to keep them in suspense tap.

“Fine, what is it that you need to do?”

“Try and fix his face, before Rapz kills me.”

“Rapz?  Who is Rapz?” Regina looked at her son. She could see how annoyed he was with Gina.  She smiled sweetly at him. 

 

“Her name is Rapunzel, she is an art student I met a few weeks ago.” Regina thought about a time when she would be the first one in Henry’s life to know everything.  The dynamic of her son and daughter still did not make sense to her.  She knew that the answerer to it, lay in the past, but neither of them enlightened her, she accepted that perhaps they were not ready.

“So when will we meet this girl?” He gave Gina a look. 

“We are only talking Mom; it is not like she is my girlfriend or anything.”

Regina smiled at her youngest.  “She has to be important enough for you to break up with Violet.”

“Violet has been dating Nick for almost two months now; we were not going anywhere either way.”

“What time is Elsa coming?” Regina asked.  The doctor promised to look in on both her kids. 

“She said after noon, she had a few things to attend to, that is why I would like to take Henry to the boathouse before that.”

“Alright.” Regina smiled at her.

 

Within half an hour the three of them were at the boathouse.  Gina opened the safe and took out a vial again; this one had a blue glimmer to it.  She placed a drop on the bracelet and one on Henry’s cheek. She swiped her fingers over his face.  Regina watched in amazement as the swelling and blueness healed.

“Better?” She asked Henry.  His eye was open again.  Gina did the minimal healing. Henry moved his jaw.  His cheek was still aching, but the pain was significantly less.  She did the same thing to her nose and breathed deeply when most of the pain subsided. Regina watched the entire ordeal with fascination.

“How does it work?”  She asked.

Gina was placing the vial back in the box. Ready to seal the safe again. 

“The bracelet is magic; the vial contains a potion.  It is just enough to do small things.”

“I thought that there is no magic in this realm?”  Regina asked with caution.

“There is none, in comparison to what you and Emma can do on a good day, this is nothing.”

“Who taught you these potions?” Henry watched the interaction with interest. 

“You did,” Gina answered.  “The only thing I still can’t get a hundred percent is your lasagna. Damn if I know what I am doing wrong, but it never comes out anywhere nearly as tasty as yours.”

Regina smiled.  It was such a normal conversation under such abnormal circumstances.  In one day she has been exposed to magic, learned that she and this girl had a relationship that was more than just a Guardianship, and she had to accept the fact that they were indeed cursed, again it seemed. She took the kids home. While they were driving, she asked them what their plans were for the rest of the week. 

Henry looked at Gina.  “Will you tell me the truth?”  He asked.

“Yeah.”

“Do you know how to break the curse?”

“Yes, I do.” He swallowed hard then asked.  “What do you need?”

“That is the problem Shining, knowing what I need and actually getting my hands on it is two very different things.”

“Can I help?”

“No.”

“So what do you need?” He insisted.

“You remember when your Mom ripped out Violet’s heart to break yours to get the tear of first love sorrow?”  Regina nearly drove the black Mercedes into a pole.  She came to an abrupt stop. “I did what?”

“Not you, Emma,” Gina said.  Regina looked at both of them. 

“Emma ripped Violet’s heart out?” They both just shrugged. “Is that a normal thing for Emma to do?”

“Actually no, I think she has done it only twice, it really is your thing,” Gina answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“My thing?” Regina sounded shocked.  “You want to tell me I run around ripping people’s hearts out?”

“You sort of stopped doing that, quite some time ago,” Henry answered. 

“You used to be evil,” Gina explained.

“Okay, I think that is enough sharing for one day.” She started the car again and drove off. 

 

“So that is what you need, a heartbreak tear?”

Gina shook her head, “I need two, and I need them at exactly the same time.”

Henry started to understand.  “It has never been about the whisper, was it?”

Gina looked at him, “No, two tears fell into the potion before the curse was complete. To reverse it, I would need the same two tears.”

 

Henry all of a sudden understood it was while his moms were crying after Gina killed Fiona. Somehow, two tears landed in the cauldron.  Even if Gina collected the tears, it could not be any kind of tears; it would have to be tears of pain and loss and to replicate that same situation would be impossible.  Gina was right this curse could not be broken.


	25. Bi-curious?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning, language, and serious F/F intimacy

**Chapter 25**

 

Emma and Regina watched the four kids play a board game.  Jaden and Gina were killing the boys in a quiz game, so they started to play something else.  The boys thought that since they knew each other longer, that they would fare better in this game, but Jaden and Gina had already made the kind of connection with each other so that a smile or a frown would send a message to the other.  Everything seemed so normal for a change.

 

Emma and Regina have spoken a little about the events of the past few days.  As hard as it was to accept, they have seen enough to believe that what Henry and Gina were telling them, was in fact true.  Emma brought the question up first. “If all of this was real, who was Gina’s parents?  Where were they?  Did they abandon her, are they still in the fairy world, where they here?”

“She does not want to talk about that,” Regina answered.  “How do you know?” Emma questioned.

“Because I already asked.  Gina told me that she has biological parents, but that I raised her.”  Regina looked out to the window; the weather was still miserable.  “Her real name is Regina.”

“What?” Emma asked as if she did not hear the first time correctly. 

“We spoke about that, I asked her what I use to call her in this story world, and she said Little Gina, as in Regina Jr.”

“So what now?” Emma asked.  Regina already filled her in on the conversations the kids had about the curse.  “I guess we go on.”

 

Strange as it was, that was what they did.  Henry stopped asking Gina questions. He stopped talking about the curse, so for the rest of the winter break, everyone was happy and enjoying what they had.

 

Elsa popped in a few times to have a look at her _patients,_ Henry and Gina were recovering at a remarkable rate.  She tried not to ask too many questions.  The doctor saw that Gina’s entire demeanor had changed after the altercation with Henry.  She seemed calmer, more focused.  It has only been a few days, but there was a definite change in the family.  Even Emma and Regina seemed calmer around each other.

Jaden was happy.  She never thought Jaden to be unhappy, but her child certainly changed ever since she became friends with Gina.  Their dynamic has changed as well, Gina was not opening up more in sessions, she was calmer, her anger seemed to have subsided, and there was a slight willingness to share some of her feelings with Elsa.

 

By the time winter break was over and Henry returned to school, and Gina started school, both Regina and Emma felt like they had a family again.  Regina started a project to redecorate the other guest room for Gina.  She copied a lot of ideas the boys implemented in the boathouse, and at the end of the day, Gina was ecstatic with her new room.

School, however, was a completely another story.  She was bored as predicted, but she did her work as it was required, she and Jaden spent most of their time together.  They sat together in class and during the break, they hanged out with Neal and Jason.  Jason was a friend and Edward Hyde’s son, and it seemed that the four of them fitted together, because they did not fit anywhere else. It suited all of them.  The most significant change in Jaden’s life was that the teasing almost immediately stopped.  Gina had a reputation by the time she got to school, so most kids left them alone.  Most kids.

 

Gregor was one of the few that thought himself superior in every way.  He was the leader of the biggest gang in Storybrook, and he thought himself above the law, any law.  He had no regard for authority figures, which was why he hated Edmund Dantés so much. The guy thought he was above the normal people.  Gregor started with them the very first day. “Wahoo, lookie here boys, raccoon boy got himself a raccoon girlfriend.”  He was referring to Neal and Gina.  He knew exactly who they were, and perhaps that made them easier targets. 

“Unless you want to join our club, I suggest you fuck off.” Gina had very little time for bullies.  She has dealt with plenty of them, Gregor was no exception.  They usually were more brawn than brains, and once you stood up to them, they left you alone, unless they were really stupid, which Gregor was. 

“Gonna let your girl fight your fight for you raccoon-boy? Heard she was the one who beat up your ass in the first place.” Gina got ready to get up and put the guy in his place when the soft hand of Jaden came to rest on her bulky forearm. Gina looked at the hand; then she looked into the melting eyes.   _Was that all it took? A touch.  Could one touch calm the beast?_   Gina eased back, Jaden smiled at her.  “Just ignore him, he is all talk.”  Gina nodded, she still could not believe that a mere touch from this girl could calm her down like that.

 

Since the day she kissed Jaden, she tried to keep her distance.  Any physical contact with the unconventional girl made Gina crazy. Her sixteenth birthday was a few days away, she knew Jaden only turned sixteen before fall and not only did she promise both Regina and Elsa that she would behave, now that she had a future, she wanted more from Jaden than only a shag.  Not that that was what she wanted in the first place, but it was becoming very hard to keep her hands off the stunning girl.

The bell rang, and Gina felt the relief flood through her.  Her anger still scared her sometimes and lately she had been working so hard to control it.  She spoke to Regina about it a lot.  It was not just the Dark One that brought darkness into her life. It was all manner of things.  For now, the Dark One buried, and she only had to concentrate on her own dark past.

Regina might not have remembered all the changes she made in her life or how far she had come, but she was an extremely intelligent woman, she guided Gina slowly.  Between the four women in her life and her two brothers, Gina felt, for the first time in a long time, that it would be alright.

 

Her birthday was nothing fancy; she invited Neal, Jason, and Jaden to have supper with her, Regina and Emma.  Regina made lasagna and crème Brule.  Emma saw to it that Gina got exactly what she wanted. She was not ready for a big celebration.  She still went very quiet when too many people were around her.  Emma picked the signs up far easier than Regina, but slowly they learned the little trademarks when their girl was in distress. It was much the same with Elsa.  She was amazed at the progress Gina made in a very short time.  She was happy with her school work, and she noticed the change in Gina towards her daughter.  Respectful admiration, she called it.

 

She and Henry still Skype almost every night.  She had never said the words to him, but he felt that she had forgiven him.  Gina never talked about Emma a lot, but Henry noticed that she started to refer to the woman as a mom.  He said nothing.  It was the natural escalation of things.  His life changed as well.  He made peace with the fact that the curse could not be broken.  Time started in Storybrook at least, so for the first time, in a long time, people were again, celebrating birthdays and had a natural awareness of time.

*********

 

Emma looked at Regina over a glass of wine on their “ _third date.”_  Regina was beautiful.  She had a black dress on that curve around her like a second skin, without revealing too much.  Emma had been staring at her all night.  Her makeup was perfect as usual, but tonight her eyes seemed brighter, darker.  Her voice was lower and very sexy.  Emma found herself asking Regina more than once, what she was saying.  She had a cream summer dress on, that made her look very feminine.  Regina enjoyed the way Emma would sweep her hair back over her shoulder to expose the flesh there.  She had a hunger burning in her belly and wondered if Emma felt the same.

They have been _dating_ for a month now.  Emma, respecting Regina’s request.  They still stayed in the same house and spent most of their time together, but now there were little touches and what Gina referred to as serious  _eye fucking_.  As much as Gina was learning from the two woman, they were learning from her as well.  Gina told them it was alright to not put a label on themselves, but they seemed so lost without one that she told them, “Bi-curious!“

“Bi-curious?”  Regina asked, half relieved that it sounded sophisticated, not like Diesel Dyke or Hump Muffin.

Gina had a very naughty look in her eyes when she explained the term to them.  “It refers to a woman who sleeps with men but has a curiosity towards the same sex. Bi-curious as oppose to Bisexual, meaning you sleep with both sexes.”

“This is not just curiosity Gina.”  She gave a yarn.  She was stretched out on the couch, reading a book when her mothers decided now was a good time for this discussion.  “I did not say that I already told you that before the curse, you were interdependent. This Bi-curious stage is just a natural progression if you ask me.”

“But you make it sound like it is a temporary thing.”  Gina looked at Emma.  “All things are temporary.” She answered.

 

She got so frustrated with Gina when she started with her dark philosophical answers.  Jaden and Elsa enjoyed this kind of conversations, but it drove Mary Margaret and Emma crazy. “Just try it out and then you can make up your minds.  There are a few more labels I can get through to you as soon as you both decide for which team you are batting.”  Both women blushed and left the subject there.

 

Emma stood a while longer at the door after Regina opened it on their  _third date_.  Regina gave her smoldering look, and the husky voice asked slowly if she would care for a nightcap?  Emma swallowed.  _Yes, she most definitely wanted a nightcap_.  Regina made her way to the study.  For a moment she tensed up.  She and Emma have worked here a lot, but it would be the first time they would share a drink together again after Emma walked out on her so many months ago.

She handed Emma the whiskey and took a seat to the side of her.  Her legs placed together and to the side always the lady.  Emma watched her.  From the crossed ankles to the way her golden bangles moved over the bare arms when she picked up her drink.

“Like what you see Miss Swan?”  Her voice was soft and low and was playing havoc with Emma’s emotions.  It was not her usual  _Miss Swan_.  It was softer, almost inviting.  Her heart was beating out of her chest.  She wanted to touch this woman, she needed to touch her, but she had no idea what the rules were any longer.  “Very much!”  She said with a dry voice, without taking her eyes off Regina’s.

 

Regina dropped her heels and walked over to Emma, her stockings making a soft noise on the carpet.  She pulled the sheriff up, their eye contact never wavering for a moment.  Regina was hungry, her need for Emma has just increased with time.  She tiptoed to meet her Sheriffs mouth.  The kiss was soft, but tonight was not a night for play.  She wanted the blond woman in every way, and she wanted her quite soon too.  The kiss turned passionate very quickly and then Regina bit Emma’s lower lip.  She received a growl, it made her smile, and Emma has never seen Regina smile like that. It was the kind of smile that promised a lot more but also said  _I have already won_.  Her eyes were dark, and Emma was completely lost in them.  Regina already indicated her intentions, so Emma took up the challenge.  She kissed her back with more passion if it was possible. Regina bit her again and pulled away. 

 _Alright_ , Emma thought, the time for games was over.  Regina took her by the hand, and they made their way up the staircase.  Regina was insatiable. The first opportunity she got she pressed Emma hard against the rails, pressing her need into her.  They both gave a small shiver.  Emma had no idea how Regina got her summer dress off, but the moment it fell at her feet Regina looked at her.  She picked soft lace and satin matching lingerie.  Regina gave her a primal look, the delicate underwear was still  _so not_  Emma, but she looked beautiful, and Regina took the time to appreciate the look. 

Her breasts were full and pale like the rest of her skin.  Her nipples came erect under Regina’s direct stare.  Emma swallowed, and Regina attacked her again.  Her mouth was now everywhere.  She was sucking the soft skin on Emma’s neck, her hands moved over the smooth abdominal muscles, raking her hands through the long blonde hair, bringing the blonde's mouth down harder on her own. If she planned to have Emma turned on to the point of no return before she could back out, her tactics were working.  By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Regina’s little black number pooled at her feet and Emma discarded the stockings right after that.  Emma’s bra fell to the ground as they closed the door behind them.

 

Regina did not ease up for a moment. Her need and her hunger just multiplied.  She wanted this woman like she wanted no other person before. She kissed Emma until her legs connected with the bed, and she fell back.  “Move up,” Regina said in her husky voice.  It was not a question, Emma moved to the top of the bed.  Her eyes devoured Emma before she climbed on the bed and approached Emma in a predatory way.  She swallowed hard.  Regina placed herself over the blonde’s body while on her hands and knees. Her black lace bra revealing the inviting cleavage, the little G-string, only keeping Emma’s eyes from that essence she was seeking. Regina crawl up the toned body and Emma forgot every fear she ever had as Regina bit down on a taut nipple and then began to suck it as if her life depended on it.  Emma was lifting her torso, clinging to the dark hair in desperate need for more.  Regina switched breasts before she crawled up further to attack Emma’s neck and shoulders again.

Emma pulled the brunette up to her. Her body was slightly smaller and more slender than Emma's.  So she easily pulled her in.  Regina was saddling her now, keeping their warmth apart but their breasts met, and Emma had to growl again as her now sensitive nipples met with the lace on Regina’s breasts. The contact and friction were different, and oh gods the softness.  Everywhere she touched Regina; she was amazed to feel her softness.  As she saddled Emma it gave her access to the back of her neck, she found a little spot, just between Emma’s neck and shoulder blade that made the blonde cry out.

She pulled back for a moment, and Emma could feel her heart pounding.  This was not exactly how she pictured their first time together, but now that Regina started with this passionate assault, she did not want it to stop.  The dark woman moved over her again, working her way down this time.  Emma snapped the black bra off and pulled their bodies together. Regina hissed at the feel of their softness together.  She pulled away from Emma for only one moment, to make sure that this was alright.  Emma gave her a small smile. With that Regina went into overdrive. 

 

Her hand slipped into the lace of Emma’s panties and gasped at the wetness she felt there.  It was incredible. She knew her own body and her own need, but to feel another woman’s body respond like this, was amazing.  She knew from her own body that she has never been this wet in her life with any of her lovers. Emma’s body responded much the same. She pulled her hand back and looked at her soaked fingers in amazement.   _She did this, to this remarkable woman?_   It left her in wonder.  She looked deep into Emma’s eyes, and as she did, she licked the glistening essence of Emma off her fingers.

Emma watched that perfect mouth, lick up her need, and just the symbolism of it nearly made her cum.  She was shaking slightly, and her anticipation pushed to a point where she felt like bursting. She wanted Regina, to feel her and her body right now.  She got herself into a position to turn them around, but Regina was not ready to let go of her dominance. She would have this woman tonight, her way.  Emma had no idea how the dark woman managed it, but before she could turn them over, Regina gripped her hands together. The next moment she found herself stretched and tied to the headrest of the bed.  She pulled at the constraints, only to realize the knot went tighter around her wrist as she pulled.  She tried to look up to see what exactly Regina did, but her hands were up too high.  Really not something she expected on their first night together.  “Regina?” She gave a warning growl. It made Regina breathe harder. She planned all of tonight in advance.  For her it was not about submission or control, she merely wanted to explore Emma’s body without interruptions.

 

“Yes, dear?”  Regina asked in her natural manner. 

“What are you doing?”

“I have not done anything.”  She smiled that predatory smile again. “Yet.”  With that, Emma knew there was no way she was going to survive the night. Regina knew exactly what she wanted, and from the moist, on her finger, she thought to herself that she had a good start. 

She started with Emma’s breasts, sucking her nipples again and watching the response, Emma seemed to like the attention, especially when Regina nibbled a bit harder and Emma hissed and tried to get more contact with that wonderful mouth.  She knew from the moment that she first kissed Regina what the woman’s mouth did to her, but this was entirely a different stimulation. First Regina just sucked, and that alone was incredible, but when she bit down on one of the taut nipples while she squeezed the other breast hard with her hand, Emma wanted more. 

Regina complied, her mouth and hands moving between breasts and now and then when Emma least expected it, Regina would attack her neck.  The kisses on her neck were sensual, the sensitive skin bursting with gooseflesh every time.  Regina responded to Emma’s moaning or hissing to realize what she wanted, what she liked and that was the entire purpose of taking Emma the way she was taking her tonight.

Regina could feel her own need escalating with every moan and beg that Emma gave her.  When she started to move down with her mouth, over Emma’s abdomen, giving her little bites on her ribcage, Emma’s pelvis started to rock at its own volition. She was constantly moaning now and begging. “Gods Regina, please?”

“Please what Dear?”

“Augh! Regina, more?”

“More what Emma?”  She has never spoken to her lovers before.  She certainly did not have anything like this with Leopold or Graham. Graham was more about her own gratification.  She liked it, asking Emma what she wanted.  

“Gods! Regina!”  She yelled all of a sudden, her body was rocking more, but there was nothing, no friction to release her need, all that was happening was her wetness pouring out at every touch and kiss Regina placed on her body.  She could feel the strain in her arms as she tried numerous times to grab or touch Regina, she was certain that the inability to feel this dark beauty was contributing much to her desire and discomfort.

“Just fuck me already?” Emma got her request out with a ragged breath.  Regina smiled. “Whatever you want dear?”

 

Regina ripped Emma’s panties off and saw what her attentions were doing to the woman.  She inhaled deeply.  Emma smelled different than her, it was intoxicating, and before either of them could think more, Regina dipped her head and ran her tongue through Emma’s entire wet slit.  Emma’s whole body lifted off the bed.  The sound she made came deep from within her throat.   

She fell back, breathing hard. Nothing close to that has ever happened to her, her mind was still recovering, when Regina began again.  She was lapping up Emma’s essence. She tasted divine, and Regina seemed as if she could not get enough.  She closed her mouth over Emma’s womanhood, and this time Emma did not care about the rocking, Regina was letting her.  Her arms wrapped around the blonde's long muscular legs. Her mouth was not releasing the blonde, her tongue flicking over Emma’s sensitive nub, which was growing with every flick until Regina decided to only concentrate there. She sucked hard on the bundle of nerves and Emma’s moaning and begging started all over. “Please Gina don’t stop, please don’t stop?” She was rocking hard against Regina’s tongue and lips, the sensation was incredible, and when Regina placed a finger inside her, Emma yelled out at another release.

 

Gina woke up in her new room at the very opposite side of Regina’s room.  Emma was yelling her name.  She jumped up, all her instinct kicking in, Emma called out in distress, and she opened her door and ran to Regina’s, just before she pulled the door open she heard the, ”Oh gods Regina!”

 

Her hand stopped mid-air, her breathing was still heavy after the fright. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and that was when she saw a bra right in front of the bedroom door.  She picked it up. Her eyebrow shot up.  Regina wore black tonight, and there was no way she would have had light underwear on, so it must be Emma’s. 

“Okay, that was unexpected.” She mumbled to herself as she followed the path of ripped off clothes all the way back to the study where she folded everything neatly and left it on the Mayors’ desk.  When she made her way past the main bedroom, she could hear Emma again.  She had an amused smile on her face, relieved that it was Emma and not her, she knew the dark woman was dangerous the moment she saw her, she reckoned that Emma was finding that out in all sorts of ways tonight.

 

After the third orgasm, Regina released Emma’s hands. Their lovemaking took on a whole new dimension.  Emma was all over Regina, returning the favors, she discovered that Regina liked it when Emma took control, holding her by the hair and deepening their kisses.  When Emma turned her over and started to rub their entire bodies together, Regina was the one begging.  Emma thrust herself into Regina’s need.  Despite the fact that she liked this position, Regina seemed to enjoy the fast thrusting Emma was giving her.  They clung to each other, when the powerful orgasm ripped through Regina’s body, she raked her nails over that sensitive spot on Emma’s back, marking her deeply. The action pushed Emma over the limit again.


	26. Bad laryngitis!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Language, angst, and F/F fluff

**Chapter 26**

 

Gina was playing some Rodriguez, singing along with Sugarman.  The music was drowning out the sound from the other end of the house.  As happy as she was for the couple, no one could listen to that all night long.  She had a little smile, thinking of the price they were going to pay in the morning.  At least they all knew now that this was not a phase or mere curiosity.

She had very little sleep. When it was time to get up, she went through her normal routine, except when it came to breakfast.  She poured a jug of water and made her way to the main bedroom; she knew both women would still be asleep.  She opened the door softly and looked at them for a moment.  You could not see where one woman began and the other ended in the tangled sheet.  She poured them each a glass of water and placed the rest of it on Regina’s nightstand.  Gina picked up the duvet from the floor and covered them. They both sighed contently and seemed to cling to each other a little more.

 

Gina left and made two phone calls, before scribbling a note on the fridge again.  Regina did tell her where the notepads were, but she could not remember.  She made her way to school, feeling different without knowing why.

She smiled when she saw Jaden. The girl brought out the best in her.  Jaden made her calm and content.  She just hoped after last night’s influence that she would be able to control her own emotions and desires towards Jaden.  They had a study session planned at Jaden’s house. Gina knew the two of them would be alone for a while.

 

Emma woke up first.  She tried to move, her body objected gravely. She was sore and stiff in places she did not even know she had.  She tried to speak, but her throat was dry and sore.  She saw the water next to her and reached.  Emma emptied the glass. The images of the night before made their way through the grogginess of the morning.  _Dear gods_ , she did not even know that half of the things they did to each other the night before was physically possible.  She tried to speak again.  Her voice was husky from screaming out Regina’s name so many times. “Regina.”  She cleared her throat a bit, and the next call came out stronger.  It made her think of Gina and how bad her screaming must have been that time to permanently damage her vocal cords.

Regina turned into Emma’s embrace.  She heard Emma call her name, but she was too content where she was to move.  “Regina, love?”

Regina’s eyes snapped open at those words.  She looked into Emma’s eyes.  Her first awareness was that they were both naked, she wanted to move when her body let her know it was not going to be so easy this morning. The memories of the night before came rushing back. She inhaled deeply. Her eyes met Emma’s full on and she saw all the love she felt, reflected there.  “Morning.”  She frowned a bit; her voice was more rough than husky.  Emma smiled at her and pointed to the water on the stand.  Regina also emptied her glass and then poured them both another one.  It was not only to clear their throats, but they both also had a tremendous thirst.  Emma thought about the amount of wetness she produced the night before.   _No wonder, we are probably dehydrated_. Then she looked at the glass in her hand and the duvet. Her eyebrow shot up.  Regina was watching her. She already came to the same conclusion.

“Gina must have placed it here for us, knowing we would need it in the morning,” Regina commented dryly.

She laid back on a pillow.  Emma’s mind still coming to terms with it.

“What is bothering you, my love?  The fact that she saw us both naked, smelling the aftermath of our lovemaking or that she knew we would be dehydrated?”

“Oh, gods!” Emma growled. “I had the last  _talk_  with her. It is your turn.”

They finally made their way downstairs, both noticing that Gina picked up their scattered clothes.  They looked at each other, embarrassed again but promptly burst into giggles.  They had a burst of love for each other,  that override every form of embarrassment. Regina started to make coffee, and when she turned to the fridge, she saw the  _note_. For a change, the message made her smile instead of the writing making her annoyed.

“Called in sick for you both.  Bad laryngitis!”  She knew exactly what she and Emma would be doing with their day off.

*********

Jaden and Gina were doing their homework together in Jaden’s room. Gina tried with all her might to stay focused on the math.  The solutions were too simple, and she had the answers even before she completed the calculations. School in itself was bad, but homework – she knew that the teachers were giving her and Jaden more were complicated work, but it still did not stimulate her mentally.  Her mind started wandering.  _What besides knives would keep her attention?  Woman_.  She shook her head to get the thought out.  _Bikes.  Would Jaden be happy to share a life with a mechanic?  Smelling like gas and grease every day?_   _Why the hell was she thinking of that_!

 

Jaden was watching her. She knew Gina’s mind was far away.  “Thinking of me?” She asked in her usual soft manner. Gina swallowed.

“How did you know?” Jaden was still very shy about certain things, even though she was far more comfortable with Gina than any other person, Gina made her confused in other ways.

She was looking back at her workbook, fiddling with her pen. 

“You get this soft look on your face sometimes.” Gina breathed. 

“You make me forget that life is harsh.”  Jaden looked at her with questioning eyes for an explanation, knowing that there would be none. 

“Why do you see the world as such a dark place?” Gina looked out of the window in order for Jaden not to see her eyes.  _Where does one even begin to answer that question?_   Elsa observed that she was calmer, she suppose she was, now that her Moms and her Brothers all knew the truth.  Henry’s acceptance of things took a lot of pressure off her.  It also gave her the faintest of hope, that she might be more than just the Dark One.  

“I told you before Gorgeous. We grew up very different. I have seen things in my life which no person should see.”  Jaden climbed off her bed to come and sit next to Gina where she was stretched out on the carpet. 

“Then explain it to me?”  She reached out and touched Gina’s face gently with those soft slender fingers. Gina’s tummy flipped. She leaned into the touch.  It was still new to her. It was only Henry that could hold her and touch her, without her being conscious of it.  Everyone else was a brand new experience, every time.  Most of the time, she had no idea what to do with the comfort.

 

She took Jaden’s hand off her face and tangled their fingers together. She looked deep into the ice blue eyes.  It stirred her, the acceptance she saw there.  She turned their hands and kissed Jaden’s hand on the knuckles. The young girl felt a shiver go through her.  The last contact they had still baffled Jaden. The softness in Gina’s eyes made her feel a bit bolder. She leaned into Gina, their faces so close, there was no mistake as to what she wanted.  Gina kissed her softly. Jaden immediately open up her mouth to invite Gina in, it made Gina moan.  Everything about her was soft, her mouth, her tongue, her skin, Gina tried to stay in control of her feelings and body.  It has been more than a year since her night with Pixie and Jaden was very different from the one night stand.  Gina felt herself pulling Jaden closer to her, their bodies connecting.  They were both still sitting on the floor.  Gina knew she was losing control, so she ended the kiss. She held Jaden by the shoulders, but the girl shook the hold off her and pushed Gina back onto the carpet, placing her body over the muscular one.  Gina swallowed hard as she looked into the blue eyes.  Jaden wanted to experiment. Gina just hoped that she could keep her own lust at bay.

 

The young girl bent down and kissed Gina on the neck. Her reward was prickles of gooseflesh running over Gina’s neck and arms.  Gina’s body was telling Jaden what Gina herself did not know how to express.  She felt their breasts pressing together; her one leg was between Gina’s, her own need pressed hard into the muscular thigh as she bent down and kissed Gina with more passion.

It has been days now that she had felt this need burning every time Gina was nearby.  Jaden knew what it was, she might be inexperienced, but she was knowledgeable.  She pushed Gina further back, holding her arms just above her head. She switched her legs and saddled Gina. She pushed into her again. She could feel her need rushing through her body. She was breathing hard.  Jaden had never been the instigator of anything, but it did not take too long for her to realize that after their first kiss, Gina was not going to do anything again.

 

Jaden could hear Gina’s heartbeat, and she could see in her eyes that she enjoyed this, so Jaden continued with her slow movements. Gina’s arms did not stay where Jaden held them for too long. Her one hand raked into the white hair while the other one held Jaden’s small frame around her back. The kiss deepened, every time Gina sucked the warm, soft tongue into her mouth, Jaden moaned and pushed harder into her. 

Gina loved it, the feel of this girl. Everything about Jaden was different.  It was the first time in her life she was making out, not to even mention with someone her own age.  All her other experiences were with older women, and it never stopped with kissing.

 

Her hold on Jaden encouraged the girl to continue. She was rubbing herself harder and faster against Gina, feeling this time how her orgasm was building up, how she was slowly losing control.  How the new-found pleasure would override all her other senses. Making her want this strong girl below her in every way.  She felt her hand cup one of Gina’s breasts, she felt herself biting softly into the flesh of Gina’s neck, and she got a response.  Jaden moaned, and she pushed back.  Gina held her tighter, and she felt her body’s release.  It was very different from the last time, the moment the orgasm ripped through Jaden, Gina turned them around and pushed hard into Jaden’s need.  Their jeans were providing additional friction, and within a few seconds, Gina pushed Jaden over the edge again.

 

Gina immediately pulled away.  She was wet and turned on beyond anything she could remember in recent years.  She knew if she did not stop now, they would land up in a situation that Jaden might not be ready for at all. 

She looked at the beautiful girl breathing hard. “Are you alright?”  Gina seemed to have gone from complete ecstasy to worry for a moment. 

“That was, that was…”  She seemed lost, and Gina leaned in a bit, still keeping a space between them. “Absolutely wonderful,” Gina said as she kissed the soft mouth again.

 

Jaden looked up at her. There was a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

“Hey, Jay, are you alright, am I moving too fast for you?”  Jaden looked at her.

“Moving too fast?  Gina, you have not done anything since that first kiss except hold my hand on occasion.”  She looked confused. “Today was initiated by me because you didn’t do anything.” 

Gina breathed, “Okay so not moving too fast, why are you upset then?”

Jaden moved closer, she did not like the distance between them, and she could see Gina swallowed as she did it.  All her shyness and uncertainty flooded back.

“Gina, are you attracted to me?” Gina’s eyebrows went up in question.

“Attracted to you, Jaden I am completely crazy about you.  Surely you can tell that by the passion we just shared?”

Jaden looked at her a long time. “You mean the passion I had?  I have had three orgasms with you already, I think about you in a certain way, I get so wet. But you, you keep on pulling away.”

Gina swallowed.  _And there are several reasons why_  she thought.   _How was she going to explain this_? 

“Jaden I am attracted to you, more perhaps than what you realize, my body is like yours, I get turned on when I think of you or if you smile at me a certain way, so I am happy with things the way they are.”

“I want you to have an orgasm with me?”  Gina swallowed when Jaden pushed her to the carpet again. She breathed very hard.  She was losing control.  She kept repeating to herself that Jaden was worth waiting for.

 

The moment Jaden had her on her back, she saddled her and continued with the kissing.  This time her kisses were slow, gentle, exploring.  Gina held her around her back. It was the safest place for her hands to be. Jaden’s hand, however, slipped in between them, she started rubbing Gina softly over her need.   _Oh my fucking gods, I am not going to survive this._   She wanted this girl, she wanted her badly and in every way and she wanted her now.  Her mind started to go all over the place, how Jaden would smell, how she would taste, running her hand through her wetness. Gina moaned because of the images running through her mind, and this encouraged Jaden to rub harder.  Gina’s pelvis was already rocking up. She knew one orgasm would never satisfy her.  She tried to stop, but Jaden had other intentions. She pinned Gina hard to the floor and grabbed her hands again and held them tighter above Gina’s head, completely in control with Gina restrained.

“Just let me take you, don’t struggle.”

 

Gina’s tummy did a different kind of flip and then went tight.  Jaden felt it immediately.  It was not only Gina’s body. It was even the atmosphere, it was like a sudden summer monsoon striking out of nowhere. While she tried to figure out what happened, she looked into Gina’s eyes.  She inhaled deeply.  She has seen Gina angry and the way her eyes would change, but this scared her far more than those dark green eyes.  She saw a paralyzing fear.  She let go of Gina and move aside.  When Gina felt the weight move of her, she closed her eyes and tried to breathe. She wanted to go to her safe place, the calm green fields where she could talk to Merlin. Her mind, however, took her to a very different safe place, the one she used to hide as a child, surviving any form of abuse.  She shut down.

 

Her mind tried hard to fight off the old defense mechanism, she kept on telling herself that Jaden was a safe place, Jaden could calm the Darkness, but her flight mode told her that Jaden was to be feared.  A single tear made its way down her cheek while she tried so hard to win the battle of nature versus nurture.  It almost felt to her that the harder she fought against her nature, the more it wanted her to run.  She opened her eyes, and she saw the worry in Jaden’s.  She did not know if Jaden tried to talk to her.  All she was aware of was to get herself away from the situation. When she got up, Jaden could see that Gina was physically shaking.  The terror in her eyes had not subsided.  She reached out, and Gina immediately pulled away.  The struggle in her mind was continuing. “Sorry, I have to go.”  She did not wait for a reply from Jaden. She just took off.  Survival took over, and Gina reacted on instinct from there.  She kept on looking for a safe place, thinking where she would be able to hide.  She went to the boathouse.  There was a place she could hide.  Henry used the rest of the space under the bed as storage for her.  She would be safe there.  Her body took her to that place, where she curled into a fetal position and stayed there.  No tears, no shaking, she was safe.

**********

Elsa got home and called to her daughter.  She knew that Jaden and Gina would be studying together, when she received no reply, she walked to Jaden’s room.  The door closed.  Elsa stood in front of it.  It took all of her training to calm herself sufficiently enough to knock and open the door.  She had to admit to herself that she expected Gina was taking advantage of her daughter behind the closed door, the last thing she expected was to find Jaden alone and crying on her bed.  Elsa could see her shoulders shaking. An immense anger took over.  She warned Gina about breaking her little girl’s heart.

“Jay?  What is wrong Honey what happened?”  She was almost too scared to find the answer.

Jaden looked at her mother and almost jumped into her arms.  She held her so tight that Elsa thought the girl was trying to strangle her and with each heartbreaking shudder that went through her daughter’s body she vowed another way to kill Gina.  

“Jaden, Honey please look at me?”  She lifted the face that looked so much like her own.  She gave her a sad smile.  The sobs eased up a bit. The eyes that stared back at Elsa were full of sadness and confusion.  “Honey?”

Jaden’s bottom lip started to quiver, but she had to tell her mother, her mother would be able to fix this.  “Mamma it was horrible.”  Elsa started breathing exercises that she has not used in a few years to calm herself so that she could listen to Jaden before she could kill Gina.

“What happened Jay?”  She asked softly, very much like the way Jaden spoke to Gina most of the time.

“Mom, Gina kissed me.”

“Yes?”  The yes, was just short of a growl.

“A few weeks back, it was so wonderful, and then there was nothing.  I wanted Gina to kiss me again.”  Elsa started to clench the back of her teeth.

“So today, I just wanted her to kiss me.”  The flood of tears started, and Elsa closed the crying girl into an embrace.

She whispered against Jaden’s ear, dreading the answer.  “What did she do to you, my Love?”

Jaden pulled away, and the flood of tears dried up almost instantly.  “No, you don’t understand.  I did something.”

Elsa frowned.  She was pretty sure that her daughter was experiencing a lot of things with Gina for the first time.  Her mind could not comprehend that Jaden would do something to upset Gina, she was sure that Gina had more experience in all manner of things that a sixteen-year-old should not have experience with at all.   

“What did you do Honey?”  The tears were back in the blue eyes, but this time she did not cry.  “I kissed her…and I guess we made out?”

Elsa nodded, this was not a conversation she wanted with her daughter.  They have always been open, and upfront and Elsa did not believe in telling the birds and the bees, stories.  When Jaden started her periods, they had  _the_   _talk_ , of course, it was all about boys and girls, not girls and girls. 

She still believed that Jaden was attracted to everything Gina and that they were only engaging in this relationship, because Jaden felt safe, not because she was a Lesbian. Not that it would matter to Elsa, but then they should have a very different conversation. 

 

Like the one that they were having now, but here her daughter was telling her what she and another girl did. Not a mother telling her daughter what can happen in a homosexual relationship.  Elsa did not know if she had the strength to listen to a description of her baby girl making out.  She bit her lips together and inhaled.

“Alright, what happened, did she want to take it further and you did not?”

Jaden shook her head. “No, I wanted more.”  She looked down, not exactly knowing what to tell her mother. 

“We had all our clothes on. I was kinda on top…” She swallowed hard, and to her relief, her mother held up her hand and looking very serious.

“You had an orgasm?”  Jaden’s blush confirmed it. 

“Was it the first time for you?” Jaden shook her head. All of a sudden Elsa wondered how far and how much these two girls have gone.

“During winter break, when she kissed me, that was the first time.”

Elsa’s eyes went wide.  “She kissed you and you…”  She made a motion with her hand for Jaden to carry on, as if she did not hear her right.  “It happened with only a kiss?”  Jaden indicated yes and blushed again.  “Wow, that must have been some kiss?”  Elsa still could not believe it.

 

“It was,” Jaden said half dreamy, and then the seriousness was back.  “With the …”

“Making out.”  Elsa finished the sentence for her. 

“Yes, it happened again, twice.”

 _Great!_   Elsa thought. Her fifteen-year-old daughter had two orgasms today, and she could not remember when was the last time she had sex?

“I wanted to reciprocate.”  She pronounced the word slowly, in case her mother was not keeping up.  Elsa tried hard to show as little expression as possible.   _Dear gods, this was too much information for one day._

“I just wanted her to feel as wonderful as what I felt.” Two big tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked to her mother for an explanation. 

“I did or said something wrong.  I reminded Gina, I think.”  She placed her hand in front of her mouth; this was so hard, so painful. 

“Mom I think that Gina was sexually abused somewhere in her life and I reminded her of that…”

“Why do you think that Honey?”

“Because when she looked at me, she was terrified,” Jaden answered sadly.

 

Elsa held on to her only child while she emptied her troubled Soul.  She was speaking softly to Jaden, whispering sweet nothings and letting her feel.  While she was holding her, she was thinking of her moral dilemma.  She has never spoken of a patient to Jaden. Even if Gina never told her the story herself, there was no way she could tell Jaden.  Gina already had trouble with her haunted past and tried to move forward. This will be a bad set back.  But she had a daughter and a patient to care for.  When Jaden stopped all her crying, and she looked up to Elsa with her big questioning eyes.

“What did you do and say to her Jaden?”

She looked down for a moment, hoping that her mother would understand.  “I held her down with my body,  I had her hands pinned down, I wanted to…” she fumbled a bit. “I wanted to make her climax, so I told her to stop struggling and let me take her.”

 

This time Elsa could not keep the shock from her face.  “Jesus! Jaden!”  She cried out, thinking of the implications of the words and the effect it would have had on Gina, knowing exactly why the words would terrify the girl.  She did not mean it to come out so strong, but now she had a patient to find.  Jaden started to cry again.  Elsa's loyalties, torn in two.  She sat next to Jaden again.  She had her own tears now.   

“Please look at me, Honey?”  Jaden looked up at her mother.  Elsa swallowed. “Something very bad happened to Gina about two years ago. You did not know Jaden, so this is not your fault.  Do you understand?”  Jaden nodded, but she could not contain her sobs.

 

Elsa left her for a moment to get her cell phone.  She held Jaden with one arm, while she dialed Emma.  When she heard the Sheriff’s voice, she had no words.  Her throat was thick with her own emotions. “Emma, have you heard from Gina?”

“Nope.”  The Sheriff tried to say in her normal way.  “I thought she was studying with Jaden.”

“She was, but something happened.”

Emma became aware of the tension in Elsa’s voice.

“What the hell did she do this time?” Jaden could hear the Sheriff’s angry, rough voice over the phone.  It made her even sadder.

“Emma, they were making out, and Jaden said something to her.”

Emma felt a chill run up her spine. “What?”  She asked softly.

Elsa did not know what she was feeling, embarrassed, sad, or responsible? 

“Emma, Jaden was pinning her down and she told Gina not to struggle, that she should let her just take her.”

 

The phone went dead.  The next moment, there was a ringtone of  _Paint it black_  in the room.  Gina left her bag and phone there.  Elsa picked up the phone. The caller ID said  _The Blonde_ , she, however, recognized Emma’s number, Elsa answered.

“She left her phone here Emma.”  The phone went dead in her hand.


	27. I have been scarred for life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning Explicit description of a rape of a minor. Angst

**Chapter 27**

 

Emma sent out a BOLO on her Kid again.  Her voice was still very scratchy and hoarse, for the first time that day, her staff believed the  _laryngitis_  story, she sounded awful. She and Regina drove over to the boathouse first.  It was empty. Her instinct told her that Gina would go there to feel safe.   Her feelings were all over the place. Her mind took her back to the night she read Gina’s medical file. The tears fell silently over her cheeks.  Emma did not want to feel, but as much as she tried to clear her mind of what she read, knew and experienced with Gina through their connection, the emotions came.  It was a full-on assault on her senses.  She pulled over the car.  Regina looked at her worried.  Emma was holding onto the steering wheel, trying to block out what she knew.

 

**Framingham.  Two years before.**

Gina went to her safe place; her mind had shut out what was happening.  The feelings she had a moment before dissipated. There was no anger, shame, or fear.  Her body was a different matter; she only managed to take her body to a safe place now and then, today was not such a day.

Mel’s assault on her took something, not just of her body, but of her Soul.  It left an emptiness she did not yet understand.  The woman after Mel was jerking off during the entire ordeal when she took her turn with the screaming, fighting, girl it did not take too long for her to get what she wanted.  She exchanged places with the knife attacker, the one that Gina hit so hard with her head on the jaw like an uppercut.  She was too dazed to do much, but her treatment of Gina’s body was harsh and cruel. She not only battered Gina where Mel left off with her right hand, but her left hand was also doing the same to Gina’s side where she was stabbed, causing the young body to retaliate in pain.  Her screaming was harder, she felt like she was fighting with all her might, but the truth was that by that time her body was so run down. Gina was held so firmly down that there was little fight left in her limbs and that was how Sue liked her victims’.

Sue’s eyes were almost black with lust.  She was in Framingham for mutilation and assault. She liked cutting other women.  Blood was her aphrodisiac, and there was plenty of it on Gina.  Gina was a feast she had dreamed of all her life, no one ever fought back, so there was never this extent of violence.  When she saw the blood on Mel’s fingers, she knew she was going to enjoy this one.

 

With most of the fight out of her, the rapists let go of her arms. Mel was fucking one of her  _mates_  in the corner. Both of them getting off on Gina’s screams and the taste they had of the young body.  So Sue had Gina all to herself.  Gina thought the brutality of Mel was depraved so physically and mentally she was in no way prepared for Sue.  All hope inside of her said that what Mel did was the worst.  She survived three so far.  The last of her hopes to be alive after this evaporated when Sue saddled her and took hold of her hands above her head.  She had Gina in an iron grip. “Just let me take you, don’t struggle.”  And with those words, she invaded Gina’s body with something.  The something turned out to be a handle of a broomstick.  It was this that ripped through Gina’s cervix, causing her to scream so hard with the pain that her voice was gone after that.  Tears were streaming down her face, but she was unaware of anything around her now.  The pain was too much, what was done to her was too much.  The once innocent girl was no longer there.  Her body eventually survived against all the odds, but her mind created a place where she seldom went, and she never allowed anyone to go there or see it.  This was her personal darkness, blacker than even her Dark One Soul.

*********

Emma was breathing hard.  Her head on her hands where they laid on the steering wheel.  Regina did not have to ask what was happening.  From the moment Emma told her what Jaden said, she had expected Emma to feel that pain again.  It still haunted her, the fact that she could not stop it, she could not ease either Emma’s or Gina’s pain from the experience.  Even though Emma felt and saw it through her mind, it did not make the experience any less real.  Her body and mind responded in the same way Gina’s did, she sadly still remembered the morning she found Emma curled up in the corner of her room, the morning after the attack.

The woman that she loved and the child she accepted as her own were both in pain, they were both going through the worst night of Gina’s life, and here she was, rubbing Emma’s back, utterly unable to do anything actually to help.  It made her feel so powerless. She hated feeling powerless.

“Emma, where is she, I know you can feel her.  Stop thinking about how we got here and concentrate on where she is.”  Her voice sounded strained, and it was not just _laryngitis_. 

Emma took a few deep breaths, and she cleared her mind as much as she could.  It was dark, and she was terrified… Emma pulled back, her breath rapid.  She clenched and unclenched her fists, shook her hands and tried again. 

 

As she felt Gina’s fear, the tears started again.  She knew Gina was not crying.  There were no emotions, except for the dark fear.  _My Kid needs me!_   She kept on repeating to herself.

“She is at the boathouse.”  She looked at Regina.  “She is at the boathouse. She is hiding.  It is dark where she is hiding.”

Regina nodded and gave her the faintest of smiles. “Then we go back and find our baby girl.”  Emma started the car and made a U-turn, sirens blazing.

 

They thought about calling Elsa, for her professional help, but both knew instinctively that Jaden needed her mother more than what they did right now.  They walked into the boathouse feeling as if they were intruding.  Emma pointed to the bedroom. Both women made their way there.  One by one they checked the closets.  It was the most logical _dark_ place where Gina would be hiding.  The powerlessness crept back into Regina when she remembered Mary Margaret showing her the safe and the other storing space.  She looked at the bed, her mind not fully comprehending how Gina would manage to fit there, but all her motherly instincts told her that it was there that Gina was hiding in the dark.

She moved towards the side of the bed where the handles to the pack space were.  Emma watched her as she calmly sat down in front of the side of the bed and pulled one door slightly open.  Emma came to sit next to her in silence.  If someone could get through to Gina now, it might be Regina. “Gina?”  Her voice was soft and husky.  Emma placed her hands on the floor, and Regina looked at her with a frown.  Emma indicated to her heart.  What she felt was relief at hearing Regina’s voice, it was smooth like honey, soothing over the troubled mind.  Emma swallowed back her tears and indicated to Regina to continue.

“Honey, we are here for you, both your moms are here, we will always be here for you Little Gina.  We never stop looking for you. We are a family again.”

 

They heard a sound from the space that did not sound quite human.  Emma sat stiffly next to Regina, remembering the promise they both made to her after Gina became the Dark One, a memory from only a few weeks ago.  Emma closed her eyes,  _was this too much for the sixteen-year-old in one day?_    They both could hear Gina crying now, Regina grabbed Emma’s hand, the two of them shedding tears as well.

The next moment they saw movement.  Regina wiped one of her cheeks.  “Gina?”  She asked again.  The girl crept out of her safe place, and when she saw them, her lower lip quivered. She just fell into them, both their arms open for her.  She held onto the two women as tightly as they did. Somewhere between the sobs, Gina said in a soft voice. “Mama.”  Their hold went tighter, the two women looking at each other over Gina’s head.  Neither knew who she said it to and both of them believed that she was Gina’s  _Mama._   Emma smiled at Regina through her tears. It did not matter, Gina was now both of theirs.

They sat there for quite a while.  Gina’s grip loosened up a bit, and she pulled away.  Except for Henry, this was the longest she was held by someone.  She looked from the brown eyes to the green once. She first wiped her tears and then her hand went to Regina, she cupped her cheek and wiped some of the tears with her thumb.  She got one of Regina’s teary happy smiles. It warmed both their hearts.  She looked at Emma, and at that moment, they both came to terms with what they shared.  It would always be like this, they will share their love for Regina and Henry, and they will share each other’s pain and hope.  Something changed between them at that moment, as it did with Regina weeks ago when she told her, that they loved each other like mother and daughter.

Neither Regina nor Emma noticed the glimmer in Gina’s bracelet as she wiped a tear from Emma’s face, her ring on her right hand swallowing the moist.  Gina did.  Her fear and loss were real and so was it for her mothers today. She did not expect them all to cry at the same time, but here they were, sitting in her house, crying together.

 

It was almost dark when they got back to the mansion. The family got Granny’s for supper.  Emma called Elsa to let her know that Gina was alright.  She could hear the relieve in the doctor’s voice but also stress.  “How is Jaden?”

“I gave her a sedative. She could not stop crying.  Emma, I need to talk to Gina, as soon as she is up to it?”  Emma looked at the silver head where she was standing in the kitchen.  “Alright, I will ask her to call you a bit later.”

They ended the call, all the while Emma was watching Gina.  She felt like she never wanted her out of her sight.

 

Gina took out plates and cutlery for them, and she turned to the fridge to get some juice for herself.  She saw the note written there. She half giggled half sobbed when she saw it.  _Gods, it felt like years ago when she wrote that, not just this morning_.  Emma was by her side in an instant.  “Guess I fucked up your  _sick_  day?” Emma burst into laughter.  Regina heard her and came to the kitchen. They could all do with some laughter she thought. “We needed a break anyway,” Emma said without thinking, blushing to her roots.

“I should hope so. I am amazed that both of you can actually walk today.”  Regina’s eyes went wide looking from one to the other, that fact was that for the last few hours they were running on adrenalin, which would soon wear off and then their daughter will see that both of them can barely walk,  she joined Emma with a rich blush, which made her look beautiful.

 

Gina smiled at them.  “Thank you for coming to get me.”  The words were so sad.  Regina wondered how many times in her short life, Gina needed that, how many times she was let down. The tears welled up in her eyes, but she gave her daughter a warm smile and held her arms open.  Gina walked over to her. Allowed the woman to coddle her a bit.  Her head was resting against Regina’s shoulder when she spoke again. 

 

“Is there a way we could soundproof my room?” Regina looked to Emma, who just held up her hands.  “Told you this morning this  _talk_  is your turn.” Gina pulled away to look at Regina, for the first time she had known Regina, there was no smart ass come back.  She smiled at her mother and kissed her on the cheek.

“It really is alright. You don’t have to talk to me, I have been scarred for life already, hearing my mothers screaming each other’s names the entire night long, won’t even fall in the top ten categories of things that really sucked.” Both women blushed again, Regina tried to say something, the words just did not come out.  Gina smiled at them. 

“At least we know now that it is not a phase or curiosity.”

“Alright, I am just going to put a bag over my head for the rest of the week,” Regina announced dramatically.

“That is actually quite an experience. I recommend you two try it.” Their mouths fell open. The conversation was supposed to be the other way around, not that either of them planned to share sex tips with their sixteen-year-old,  they were responsible for teaching Gina about sex, not the other way around. Even though they both assumed that in the _girl category_ , Gina would have much more experience.  “You are now just mocking us,” Emma said, still slightly shocked.  “Maybe,” Gina said as her grin disappeared into a glass of juice. Regina felt like shaking herself awake. She could not believe the direction the conversation took.

“Seriously, I am very happy, for both of you.”  She looked at Emma when she said it.

“So you are alright with us, being a couple?” Regina asked carefully.  Something crossed in Gina’s eyes. She looked down for a moment.  Regina realized that the question was slightly more serious than what she intended it to be. When Gina looked up, the dark woman could see that there was some peace there, if only for a while. 

“Yes Mom, I am cool with you being a couple.”

She did not wait for a response, she just set the breakfast nook for them and heated up their food before dishing up for them.  She asked them what they would like to drink and Emma said she would get them a bottle of wine.  In some ways, she was so mature, and in other aspects, she was still insecure and vulnerable, Regina realized.  They sat down like any normal family would, hopefully, Regina thought, for many nights to come.

 

Gina watched her mothers as they had a little telepathy conversation.  It still amazed her that they had this unique link and only now got their shit together, or at least Emma.

“Gina, Elsa asked if you could call her a bit later.”  Gina placed her fork down.  So much has happened and her emotions were in so much upheaval that she forgot how it started.  She gave Emma a troubled look and asked softly.  “How is Jaden?”

“Elsa gave her something to sleep.”  Emma thought for a moment as to how to approach the crux of the conversation.  “Gina, she did not know…”  She gave Emma a small, sad smile.

“I know.  I just… My reaction was…”

“Your survival instincts kicked in.”  Emma finished the sentence for her.  Gina looked down.  “It is more of a defense mechanism. I shut down emotionally so that I don’t feel.  I experience the pain, but my emotions…”  Her voice grew thick.  She has never tried to explain it to anyone.  “I know Jaden did not mean anything, other than what she said.  She, unfortunately, triggered a bad memory.”

Emma swallowed hard.  She reached over the counter and took Gina’s hand.  “I know baby girl, I felt it, I went back with you.”  Gina looked at her shocked.

“Oh gods, I am sorry Emma.”  The tears were back.

“No, it’s alright Gina.”  She frowned before she continued.  “I know what Jaden said and did and I know what memory was triggered.  I know exactly what happened.  I did not experience your physical pain this time, but I felt what you were feeling.”

Gina’s head was hanging.  She wiped a tear before she could look at Emma. 

“I am sorry that this is happening to you, that our connection is stronger now after you went into my dreams, I will try to figure out a way to protect you.”

 

“You don’t need to Sweetheart.  Perhaps you have not noticed, but you do not speak of your past or your emotions a lot, not even with Jaden and Elsa.  This way, I am getting to know you better, the more I know you, the more I can perhaps help you?”  The last bit almost sounded like a plea.  Gina understood, she just did not agree.

“Emma,” The name came out very strained.  “You cannot be my Savior.  This is not your burden to carry, not my past and certainly not my Darkness, either of them.”  She held Emma’s hand a bit tighter, looking at her intently.  “Give me a better future, don’t try and fix my broken past?”

“Why?” Emma asked

“It is broken beyond repair. It’s in a million little pieces.  James Frey said that and I tend to agree with him.”  Emma and Regina took the information in.

“You cannot carry this, alone, forever.  That is why we are here Gina.  That is what mom’s do, they worry, and they try and make things better.” Emma argued.

“I know, but have you ever dropped a glass vase and then tried to paste it back together with super glue?”  Emma looked annoyed.  “Buy a new vase Sheriff.”  She smiled and finished her food.

“You showed me only a few moments of our past.  Can you show me more?  Tell us more about the Enchanted Forest.” Emma asked carefully this time.

Gina chewed and swallowed her food. “It was home. It was beautiful before Fiona fucked it up.  Happy?”

 _Yup_ , Emma thought again. This _is Karma_.

The call to Elsa was not what she expected. “Gina, I am so sorry.”

“It is alright Doctor Frost.”

“No, it’s not Gina.  Nothing about this is alright.  You had trauma today and not only could I not help you, but I also broke our doctor-patient confidentiality.” It sounded as if Elsa was on the brink of crying.  Gina was quiet on her side.

“Gina?”

“What did you tell Jaden?”

“I told her that something happened to you two years ago and that she did not know that, that triggering your memory was not her fault.”

Gina was silent again.  She had no idea how she felt about that.  “It is the truth is it not Doctor?”

“Yes but…”

“No but’s.  You did what you had to do today to help your daughter and correct me if I am wrong, but Jaden figured it out before you told her?”

“Yes.”  The reply was soft.  Gina exhaled hard.

“What do you need me to do now, to help ease Jaden’s mind?” Gina asked.

Elsa frowned on the other side.  When she spoke to Emma earlier, she described the state Gina was in. Now she seemed very much in control of her emotions.  Elsa suspected that she just suppressed everything, the worst thing that she could do.

“Jaden will be alright, I will keep her home and help her through this, but I need to help you first.” Elsa sounded like a doctor again.

“Jaden is more important.  Take care of her please?”  With that, the phone went dead.

 

Elsa called Emma as soon as the call with Gina ended.  “She is too calm. After what you told me, she is too calm and cohesive.  She is suppressing her emotions, sooner or later she is going to lose it, and someone is going to get hurt.”  Emma agreed with her.  She and Regina already decided to stay with her for a few days, ensuring that when the bubble burst, that they would be there.

Emma decided to check in on Gina before they went to bed.  Regina already said goodnight to her.  She found Gina sitting outside with her feet up on the balcony connected to her room.  She was smoking.  Emma approached her with a sigh.  She knew Gina still smoked even if it was only on rare occasions.  She took the cigarette out of the teenager's hand and stomped it dead beneath her boot.  She gave Gina  _the eyebrow_.  Gina gave her a cheeky smile.

“How are you feeling?” The older woman asked.

“How am I supposed to feel?” Emma sat down.  Regina told her about their discussion about ACA and the way Emma responded to being accepted the way she was.  She did a little research and was initially surprised by the accurate descriptions in the program.  She identified with most of what she read.  She could now see the same things in Gina.  One item that stood out for her was that adult-children who grew up with dysfunction guessed at what was normal.  She thought to herself that Gina’s question was not only a smart ass reverse psychology question, she honestly did not know what she was supposed to feel.  It was not that she could not tell right from wrong or take responsibility for her actions when it came to emotions she most likely only understood anger and pain, love acceptance, forgiveness would be unfamiliar. 

 

She could have answered  _bad_  or  _angry_ , but Emma could feel it was something more, different.  “Perhaps anxiety?”  Emma tried.  “More like repulsion,” Gina answered.  “You feel that Jaden repulses you now?”  Emma asked worriedly. 

“Gods no Sheriff, it is how I feel about myself.  It is the way I often feel.  If I feel this way about myself, how can anyone else feel different?”

 

Emma thought about it.  “You do not repulse me, and I have seen and read every bad thing that has happened to you, or at least what you allowed people to know.”  Emma went quiet for a moment.  “Perhaps I love you just that little more because of the scars and imperfections.”  The words came out soft.  She wanted Gina to believe it.  All of a sudden that seemed to be the most important thing in Emma’s life, for this broken girl to believe her, to believe in her. 

Gina did not have to look at the Sheriff to know she was sincere, she could hear it in her voice.  The words and acceptance moved her enough for a tear to slowly make its way down her cheek.  She did not bother to wipe it.  She sat with her arms crossed over her heart, a physical expression to protect herself.

 

Her voice was strained and husky when she answered.  “Thank you, Mom.”  Emma sat completely still, holding her breath.  It was the first time Gina called her mom.  She had said it to Regina a few times, but this was new for Emma.  She wanted to make sure that Gina meant it, she was waiting for the _sorry Sheriff or Emma_.  It did not come.  She wiped her stray tear and got up. She kissed Gina on the top of her head while she still sat crossed armed, crossed ankles on the balcony.  “Night Honey.  See you in the morning.”

 

Long after Emma was gone, Gina almost whispered to the wind, “Good night mom.” She looked down at the bracelet on her arm. She flicked her left thumb over it, her name appearing in the Ruin script.  She felt the magic; she felt the extra strength of the tears she gathered today.  It was there, but it was not strong enough.  She looked up to the open night sky, more worried about how she would get the correct tears than her feelings of shame surrounding her past.

**Boston same time**

 

Henry and Rapz took their relationship to the next level after winter break.  He was planning to take her home with him in a few days for spring break.  They both worked hard at their studies to take the few days of leisure.  He knew Rapz was nervous, but he also knew his family would love her instantly.

One of the things that bind their relationship was the fact that neither of them spoke much of their past or their childhood.  It was as if Rapz just lived for the now.  She never asked those awkward first date questions.  She never asked to see photos of him as a child, and he sure was not about to start such a conversation.

 

He woke up in the dead of night.  He was instantly aware of the naked woman beside him.  He rubbed his hand softly over her back, appreciating her softness.  Her chopped brown hair was spread all over his pillow, and she sighed contently in her sleep which made Henry smiled.

 A small frown came to his face.  He woke up for a reason.  He looked around the room that was slightly lit by the street lights. He grabbed his boxers and made his way soundlessly to the TV area. 

 He packed his fairy tale books away.  Rapz understood that he did a lot of research from them, but for some reason, she did not like fairy tales.  He thought it was because of her name.  She never spoke of her parents that gave her the fairy tale name, he assumed that they must be odd or on drugs when they named her.

He took out the book and read the part about the last curse again.  Perhaps he was missing something and now that Gina confirmed that it was not about the whisper, but about his mothers’ tears, there might be something, in fact, he knew he was missing something.  He read it twice.

“Fucking son of a bitch!”  He cursed, and when he realized what he said, he mumbled an apology to his mother.  He paged back to the first curse and read the part where Jefferson helps his dark mother to get the poisoned apple from the past to  _get the Savior to eat her forbidden fruit_.  His mind went to a strange place. He had to shake the image of his two mothers together, like  _that_  out of his head!

 

Regina used potions to put into the magic hat, but it was Daniel’s ring, life magic that made the hat work.  He impatiently paged to the last chapter of the first curse.  Mr. Gold knew who he was by then.  He knew he was the Dark One, but he still did not have magic.  He had to use the most powerful potion he had and the wishing well to bring life magic back to Storybrook.  Even his mother could not control her magic at that stage, and she had to get her spell book back before she could practice her craft again.  And Emma, she had her powers, she just did not know it at the time.  Only true love’s kiss could break the curse. It took Emma and Regina’s power to open up one of Jefferson’s portals to get rid of the Wraith.

He sat back despondent. Gina healed him and herself with only a drop of potion and a wave.  Specifically a wave of her Right hand, the hand that had the bracelet on.  The Dark One dagger.  She sealed the safe with magic. She was able to teleport with her silver magic.  She had life magic he concluded.

 

“She fucking has been using life magic.  The bracelet had magic.”  He was rubbing his forehead with his fingers as if he was trying to get rid of a headache.  The answer was there he knew it, he just could... “Shit!”

He paged back to the last pages again.  Gina used the dagger with magic. She did not kill Fiona by holding the dagger.

He sat back, thinking. Out loud he formed his thoughts. “Some of Gina’s light magic stuck to the dagger.”  It still did not explain why the bracelet had so much life magic.  Realization hit him.

“Fuck it! There were three tears, not two!”  He stood up and started pacing up and down thinking about his theory.  He stopped in the middle of the room.  “Her natural white magic on the dagger and a light magic tear, together with another light and dark tear. Fucking hell! She has her magic.”

Rapz stood by the door.  She woke up when she felt Henry’s warmness disappeared.  She had a worried frown on her beautiful face.


	28. She is your child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit more crying

**Chapter 28**

 

Jaden woke up, feeling miserable.  Her eyes did not want to focus due to all the crying the night before. Her mind, which was always sharp, felt drained.   _Must be the sedative mom gave me_ , she thought.  She did not want to move; she wanted to stay in her warm cocoon and shut the world out forever.  She knew she was awkward with people, but now she even shunned her best friend, someone that she loved.  She thought about it for a moment and realized that was the reason she felt so worthless.  She loved Gina. She loved her with passion, care and all the good things that mattered.  Now, due to her carelessness, she would never be able to tell her. 

She swallowed and realized she was thirsty and that her tears were still not far away.  She sat up, to get out of bed and get something to drink. She rubbed her eyes.  _I am still dreaming_ , she thought.  There on her bedroom floor was Gina, spread out as always, books all around her, biting into a pencil, doing homework.

 

“Gina?”  Her question came out softer than usual. Her voice was dry and scratchy from all the crying.  Gina looked up; there was a smile on her face.  “Good morning Gorgeous.”  Jaden just looked at her; she could not be real.  The last place Gina would ever be again is here, in her room, doing homework.

Gina got up and came to sit with her on the bed.  She silently handed Jaden a glass of water that she placed there earlier.  Jaden took it gratefully, their fingers touching as she took it, to make sure Gina was real, sitting here with her, looking concerned.  She emptied the glass. 

“Would you like some more?”  Jaden shook her head.  She reached out to touch Gina’s face then retracted her hand as if the close contact would burn her if she went further.  Gina took the glass from her other hand and placed it back on the nightstand.  She slowly and softly took Jaden’s hand and placed it on her cheek with her own over it. Jaden started shaking as the tears came flooding back.  She did not understand any of it.  Gina pulled her into an embrace and whispered against her ear.

“I am sorry I scared you yesterday that I left so abruptly without explaining.”  Jaden pulled away, looking at the serious face before her. “Gina no, I am sorry for hurting you.”

Gina wiped the tears that were falling freely from Jaden's cheeks. Her voice was thick and very husky when she spoke. 

“Baby, you did not hurt me, if anything I caused you pain.  Please remember that?”  Jaden’s lower lip quivered.  She wanted to say more, say something, anything.  Gina leaned in and kissed her.  The kiss was different from the day before.  It was gentle, reassuring. It was soothing to Jaden’s troubled Soul.  The kiss stopped, as gentle as it started.  Gina held her face in both hands. 

“Jay, it is not your fault.  I have told you I have a bad past…”  Jaden shook her head.

“You never said that. You said we grew up different, that you have seen bad things, you have never indicated that you lived a life that no one ever should!”  Gina swallowed and looked down.  It was true, she never even attempted to warn Jaden, because she never intended for her to get so close.  She looked up again into the blue eyes.

“You are right; I never said that.  I will be brutally honest with you for the next fifteen minutes alright?”  Jaden nodded even though she knew she was not going to like what she was about to hear.

“I am very self-conscience about my body. I have a lot of scars that I do not care to explain to anyone. Your mom and my moms know of them because they read my file and your mom checked me over when I first landed in her care.  Some scars will never heal or go away.”  She lifted up the sleeve of the hockey jersey she was wearing.  On her upper right arm was a scar. It was just above her elbow running diagonally over her arm, about four inches long.  She lifted the sleeve a bit further and showed Jaden the two tattoos there.

The Celtic Warrior Spirit and the protection bind ruin.   Gina ran her fingers over the scar and then the tattoos.  She looked up at Gina to finish the tale.  Gina looked deep into the blue eyes, conveying for Jaden to trust her.  She nodded, Gina took her hand and ran it over the two scars on her left side of her body, underneath the shirt. 

“The long scar is where Neal cut me when I first got here; the other one is a stab wound.” Jaden swallowed, and Gina lifted her hand to the scar running below her eyes, looking like a sickle moon.  It was something that in Jaden’s mind it added a rather appealing to her looks instead of being unnerving.

“These are some of the physical scars I have.”  Jaden nodded. 

“My mom said something bad happened to you two years ago and I reminded you of that, these scars?”  Jaden's voice was small when she asked the question.

Gina held her hand a bit tighter. 

“Like I said, for this moment, and only this moment I will tell you the truth of that night.   _Something bad_  does not even qualify as a euphemism for what happened to me. Devastating, life-altering, those would be more appropriate euphemisms.”

“You were assaulted and raped?” Jaden said softly her eyes were not wavering from the green once.  She saw the flash of anger and then it was gone. 

“Yes, they called it multiple forced penetration and sexual assault on a disinclined minor.”  She quoted the official statement Detective Jamie wrote in her report. 

“They were charged with statutory sexual assault, with aggravating circumstances.”  Gina could hardly get the words out. 

“They?” Jaden asked.

“Yes, they.”  It was as hard for her to say it, as it was for Jaden to hear it.  Jaden did not even try to hide the shocked sorrow on her face. Gina gave her a grim smile.

“That is still not the worst part.”  At the words Jaden went stiff, she could not imagine what could be worse than gang rape.  Gina could not look at her anymore.  She stood up and folded her arms over herself. 

“The first one took my virginity, the fourth one penetrated me with an object and caused so much damage to my cervix and uterus that to save my life due to all the blood loss, the doctors had to remove my uterus.”

 

She was shaking lightly.  The doctor’s, the psychologist, the physiatrist, the social workers, all of them tried to get her to talk about that night, and here she was, replaying the worst night of her life over for the second time in twenty-four hours.

“And I reminded you of that?”  There was anger in Jaden’s voice.  Her mind could not comprehend the passion they shared with such brutality.

Gina turned around and looked at her hard.  Her mind running.   _Should she say yes, and spare this lovely girl more pain down the line or should she explain and save what they had and fix the rest along the way_?

“It was not our passion, your kisses or the fact that you wanted me, Jay.  It was the words you said.   _Just let me take you, don’t struggle_.  It was what the one said that caused the damage to my uterus.”  It was all she could get out for the moment.  She sat down next to Jaden.  She felt exhausted.  Jaden looked deflated.

 

“Jay, it is not your fault, you did not know, you only expressed what you wanted, which is good, and there is nothing wrong with it.  I am just broken and fucked up. I have emotional scars than runs deeper than any of the marks on my body.”  She looked at Jaden, and a few stray tears fell down her face.  The next words came out as barely a whisper.

“Now you know the worst of me. It changed me, my anger and distrust of people came from that.  It was there long before that night, but I swore to myself I would never let anyone close again.  Then I met you…”

 

Jaden swept her up into her arms.  She always thought Gina as the strong one, but in these few minutes she opened up her Soul and show Jaden, not the worst of herself, but more strength.  She allowed for vulnerability to make way for fear and Jaden knew at that moment that she never wanted to let this brave girl go and that she would love her, always, if that was what Gina wanted.

**********

Emma and Regina woke up a bit later than what they intended.  Their first response was to look in on Gina.  Her bed made and the room empty.  They knew she was not in the kitchen because of the absence of smelling food.  Regina dreaded going down.  Emma already went back for her cell phone.  “Emma!”  She called when she got to the kitchen.  She was getting used to Gina’s writing, but she had to reread the message, as usual on the fridge.

 _Moms, need some time alone, then going to Jaden. Don’t worry; I’m okay_. Yeah, both women thought.  The message ended with an arrow, pointing to Gina’s cell phone disregarded on the kitchen surface.  It was almost nine in the morning; they called Elsa.

 

Elsa woke up around eight.  She slept little. She kept on checking in on her daughter to make sure she was alright, that was the first thing on her mind now.  She walked the short way down the hall and softly opened the door.  She had no idea what her reaction was supposed to be.  She just stood there looking at the scene before her. Gina was easily a foot taller than Jaden, but here she was, curled up in a fetal position sleeping in her daughter’s arms.  Her head nuzzled in between Jaden’s neck and shoulder. Her mind was rushing.  _How did Gina get in, should they be in one bed together?  What were the rules and what was she doing here_?  Elsa thought after the day before that it would take Gina some time to function normally again. 

Then she stood and just looked at them.  They made a beautiful couple with their natural beauty and unusual hair.  Gina’s hair was over shoulder length now, she normally wore it in a ponytail, but this morning it was softly scattered over Jaden and her pillow.  She looked at her patient’s face.  She had never see Gina’s face so soft or relaxed.  It made her look at her daughter as well.  She seemed content.  Elsa closed the door slightly and made her way to the kitchen.

 

When Emma called she did not know exactly what to say, so she invited them over for breakfast. As expected the first thing Regina and Emma did were to check in on Gina.  The girls changed position since Elsa last checked in on them, Jaden was using most of Gina’s body as a pillow now, one of her legs draped over Gina’s.  She nestled into the softness of Gina’s breasts.  Gina’s arms were holding her protectively.   Suddenly Gina turned on her side, and Jaden naturally turned in her arms. They laid spooned together, Gina’s leg moved between Jaden. If at all possible, she pulled the small girl closer to her and held her tighter, even more protective.  The three women looked at the girls and then each other.   The way they slept together, look so natural as if they had been doing it for years.  They left the girls, the door open. They had things to talk about.

 

The women all of a sudden looked uncomfortable with each other.  Elsa still had an ethical dilemma. It looked as if both the Mayor and the Sheriff was about to explode.  Regina spoke first as they all sat down in Elsa’s study. 

“How long has this been going on in your house?”

“What?”  The normally composed psychologist asked hard and cold.

“How long have they been sleeping together and making out in your house?” Regina rephrased.

“For your information Madam Mayor, their first making out session happened in your house.” Regina looked to Emma, neither of them knew anything. Regina thought that they had only kissed.

“As for sleeping  _together_ , that,” she pointed in the direction of Jaden’s room “Is the only time and the door has been open since I discovered  _your_  daughter in  _my_  daughter’s bed this morning. When you still had no idea that she was not in your house because you were taking care of your  _laryngitis_.”  Elsa has never pulled punches with Regina, but they have never butt head on either.

Regina was about to continue when Gina walked into the study drinking Cranberry juice out of the carton. She swallowed down the last of the juice and placed the carton on one of the tables.

“Morning.”  She said to no one in particular as she closed the door.  “Doc you are out of juice.”  She indicated to the box. Then she turned to her mothers.  “Really?” Both of them opened their mouths to protest when Gina turned her head slightly to the side and down, an eyebrow shooting up and her hand moving in a motion that all three women were very familiar with. Elsa’s mouth now hanged open. 

“Did you know about this?”  She looked at Gina and her body language but turned to ask the blonde and brunette the question.

“Did we know what?”  Regina asked irritated. She hated it when Gina pulled all her tricks on her.

Elsa blinked. “My gods!  Her language usage, posture, and clothes are Emma and her manner of speaking, facial expressions and mannerisms are Regina.  And now that I think about it, she looks like Emma acts like Regina and that has been the way ever since I met her.”  It was as if she found a piece of the puzzle she had been looking forever since she started her therapy sessions with Gina.  “She is your child,” Elsa concluded confused.

 

 “Yes,” Regina said. “We have noticed, it is very aggravating.”  She was tapping with her fingers on the armrest of the chair she was sitting in, her eyes very dark, her legs crossed, dressed to kill and from what Gina overheard and was seeing, ready for it too. Gina gave her a smile and a look.  Regina rolled her eyes.  “Fine.”  She said, and Gina nodded as she took her seat.  “Thank you, Mom.”  Elsa’s mouth opened again, but this time she got the look, and she swallowed her question.

 

“So your bickering woke me up and if it wakes Jaden up, I might get upset, so here is how it is going to work.  Jaden got fifteen minutes of truthful Q and A, but she is special. Each of you will get ten minutes.  I have three passes per person and do not even attempt to ask me about my biological parents.  That question will not be answered and will not be considered a pass.  Facial expressions will count as answers.  Any interruptions from any other party while not their Q and A will result in time deduction.  Are we clear?”

Regina had a frown.  “You will answer the truth?”

“You can use Emma’s superpower, your intuition or Doctor Elsa’s training.  Between the three of you, one of you will know if I am lying. So yes Mom, I will answer the truth.”  All three women looked at her, this was a rare opportunity and their minds already formulating the questions. “Alright, Emma,” she took her watch off.  “Q and A starts now!”

“How long have you been sleeping with Jaden?”

“About three hours.”

Emma rolled her tongue in her mouth. _Fine_.  “How long have you and Jaden been having sex?”

“Define sex?”

“What? Gods Gina you know very well what sex is?”

“Yes, I do, but according to my definitions, the answer would be that we have not had sex, yet.”  She said the _yet_ , clear in order for all three to understand her intentions. Elsa interrupted.  “Jaden has had three orgasms already, and you want to tell me you are not having sex?”

“Not in my definition and Doc, you just lost a minute.”

Emma was holding her head.  She was trying to figure out not only what Gina’s definition of sex was, especially if Jaden already had orgasms.

“Dry hump!” Emma, all of a sudden, yelled out.

“A prize to the Sheriff, except the first time, was indeed in our house, and that was only kissing.”  _Good gods_!  Both mothers thought at the same time.

“So yesterday, was…”  Emma could not get the term out again. Gina just nodded.  The woman all sighed with relief.  Gina looked bored at them.

“What is your real surname?”  Emma asked and took Gina completely by surprise. 

“Pass,” Gina answered annoyed.

“Any siblings?”

“A brother.”

“You have a brother? Where is he, what is his name, do we know him?” Emma could not believe that she has never spoken of or indicated that she had a real family.

“Yes, have no idea right now, bro and yes,” Gina answered so fast that Emma had to rethink what she asked.  “Three minutes left Sheriff.”

“Who taught you to fight?”

“My grandmother. And yes, I have those too.”

“Your grandmother….”  Emma’s mind was spinning.

“Where the hell was your parents?”  She asked angrily all of a sudden.

“They were too busy with other things.”  Emma saw the truth in her eyes. 

“What could have been more important to your mother than taking care of you?”  Emma’s eyes were bright with tears, but she kept them in.  Gina thought about giving her a  _really_?  But instead, she answered the truth.

“The war.”  Elsa was analyzing every question and answer. This was something new.  Emma shook her head. 

“Besides being the Savior, what am I to you personally, back there?”

“Pass” Emma looked at her frustrated. 

“Do you want to break the curse?”

“Yes.”  This information brought Regina to raise an eyebrow. 

“Why were you crying on Killian’s grave that night I found you there?”  Gina clenched her jaw.  The Sheriff was asking all the wrong questions. 

“Because I loved him once as well.”

“Why do you hate me?”

“I don’t hate you, Emma.”

“Gina, I did something, you are angry with me, why, what can I do the make it right?” A tear crept over Gina’s cheek.  She did not even realize she was emotionally vested in the conversation.  “Pass.”  She said, then looked at her watch.  “Time is up Sheriff.”

 

“Doc, your nine minutes starts now.”

“When are you planning to have sex with my daughter?” Gina wanted to laugh at the concerned anger she saw there.

“When she is ready and when she wants it to happen,” Gina answered truthfully

“Why do you avoid the subject of your birth parents?” 

“Technically speaking, because neither actually exists in this Realm.” Elsa frowned.  “Atom’s Doctor.” Gina steered her in the direction.

“Right, if your parents did not raise you, who did those first six years?”

“Regina.”  Elsa looked at her and then to Regina.  Her mind befuddled.

“Atom’s” Gina brought her back.

“Will you ever forgive Emma?”

“There really is nothing to forgive.”  Elsa looked at her intently for any deceit. There was none.

“Did you talk to Jaden about yesterday?”

“Yes.”  Elsa waited for her to continue.  Regina watched in amusement.  Gina was good at this.  She would make a great politician.

“And!”

“And what Doc?”

“What did you discuss?”  Elsa asked frustrated.

“What happened yesterday.”  Regina gave a throaty laugh. Elsa glared at Regina.

“As I said, just like you.”  She turned to Gina again.

“What details did you tell her about your reaction and your past?”

“I did not tell her it happened in jail, I am not ready for that, but I mostly told her what Mel and Sue did to me.”

“Was she alright afterwards, did you explain your reaction to her?”

“Yes ma’am, she held me after I told her, and I told her it was not her passion or our physical attraction, it was what she said.  I told her it was not her fault and that I was sorry, we were both so emotionally drained that we just fell asleep holding each other. That was how you found us this morning.  Nothing else happened.”

Elsa blew out her relief.  “How are you feeling?” Gina shrugged her shoulders.  Elsa wanted to roll her eyes.

“How do you feel about Emma and Regina’s  _laryngitis_?”

“Really?”  Gina looked annoyed.  “Firstly, my mothers’  _laryngitis_  has nothing to do with you. Secondly, I have told them how I feel, and that is all.”

“It is my concern if it affects you emotionally, especially if the woman who raised you is having sex with a woman that disappointed you.”

 

Gina got up, for a moment Elsa saw what few saw and lived to tell the tale.  “There, that!”  Elsa was also on her feet. “That anger towards Emma and anyone that might insult Regina in some way, those are unresolved issues. These are the things we need to be discussing in our sessions.”

Gina pushed hard to get the anger back down. It came far quicker than usual. 

“I would think Doctor that our sessions will be ending since we now have a conflict of interest.”  She looked down at her watch.  “Your time is up.”

 

Gina sat back down.  Looking at Regina, she nodded.

“You told Emma that you would break the curse.  What will happen when you do?”

She looked at her mother with her  _really-_ face.

“What? It is a valid question?”  Regina argued.

“It is, and other than what I have read in your son’s storybooks, I really cannot tell you, this is my first curse.”

Regina frowned.  “Where were you during the Black Fairy’s curse?”   _Oh, gods_ , she thought.   _Has someone actually gave them insight this morning?_

“Pass.”

“Gina, that is what this is all about isn’t it?  None of this would have happened if we knew where you were that day, am I right?”  Gina sighed. 

“Yes, none of this would have happened if you knew where I was the day the Black Fairy cast her curse.”  it was a lie, one that all of them needed to belief.  The truth was harder to explain, still harder to belief.

“So you carry this burden, you think this is your fault?”

“No, the fact that all of you have cursed memories that is my fault, but the curse, any of them, not my fault.”

Regina closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of how she would phrase the next question.  “Do you love me more than your real mother?”  She got the _really-face_.  Gina sighed. 

“Already answered that.”

“What will happen to you when the curse breaks?”

“Pass.”

“Gina, I know you do not want to go back…”

“Is there a question in there Madam Mayor?”  She knew the title would sting, but all of them were far too close at the moment with their questions.  _Was she that transparent?_

“You are not coming with us, are you?  That is why all of a sudden you want to break the curse.  You don’t want Emma to be connected to you and getting hurt all the time.  You do not want to carry that burden?”  Regina knew she was pushing hard, but she needed to know.  “You told Henry it was impossible, but you have found a way haven’t you?”

 

“Yes!” Gina answered harshly.  Regina’s mind was sifting through the information she had.  She stopped and looked up to Gina. “No!”  She was shaking her head, and the tears were in her eyes.  “No!”  Regina said again, she was up and took hold of Gina’s hand she did not care about the tears falling freely.  She looked into Gina’s eyes for the truth.

“It is the only way, Mom.  This way, everyone gets their happy ending.” 

“No, there has to be another way, I am not leaving you, not again.”

“Mom.”  Gina took both her hands. “You told me that a hero makes the hard choices, a hero does not do what is easy. All magic comes with a price.  This is my price to pay.  I will pay generously if it means that you are happy. I am the Dark One, and I know you do not understand that. I want to be a hero like my family. I do not want to be and die as the Dark One.”  Regina fell into her arms and wept on the young girl’s shoulder.  Emma and Elsa having their own struggle with what was said.


	29. I am your only delinquent niece, Aunt Trina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of fun with the Evil Queen and Maleficent

**Chapter 29**

 

High place phenomenon.  It would be a subject that she properly should be discussing with Doctor Frost.  Funny, as a person she was afraid of heights. She has been riding for an hour or so; she chose a path near Arendville with sharp turns and bends.  She was pushing the bike far beyond the speed limit.  That was when it happened the most – High place phenomenon.  She knew why it was happening more at the moment.  She knew where her dark subconscious mind was taking her, self-destructive ideation, acting out the scenario in your mind that you would not act on consciously.  It was considered to be a healthy will to live not actual suicidal thoughts.

She was approaching a long downhill, she closed her eyes and let the High place phenomenon take over.  She saw herself driving straight, not turning at the end of the hill.  An amazing bird eyes view of Arendville and complete freedom before her and the bike came crashing to the ground. Gina opened her eyes and slowed down to take the turn at the bottom of the hill.  She had a bit of an adrenaline rush, because gods if there was one way she would never take her life it would be something, anything to do with heights.

 

She needed to come down. There were several ways to do it. She could call Doctor Elsa, tell her everything; she could call her moms and tell them everything. But what would be the point?  It would hurt more than it would heal, despite that Elsa told her that talking about it would help with the healing.  There were three more options, two of those would get her grounded, and spring break started on Thursday, not to mention, that one of them was taking the next step with Jaden and she meant what she said to Elsa a few days ago. She rubbed over her left thigh.  _No_ , she thought, she would try door number three first.  She changed directions, instead of heading to Storybrook she headed towards the border between Storybrook and Neverville. 

Her aunt lived on the very edge of Storybrook, Sherwood Forest.  The forest was the start of the natural wonder that was the Neverville Forest and landscape of mountains and coves.  Gina believed that part of the reason Gregor was not moving into Storybrook, was Sherwood Forest.  Trina and Robin would be one obstacle; then there was Mal and her daughter Lily that lived in a massive house near one of the coves. They were extremely mysterious. There were a lot of rumors about livestock going missing in the middle of the night, near the mansion.  So there were all kinds of frightening stories about occult and devil worshipping.  Gina knew that they just like hunting, their natural instincts as Dragons could not even be tamed by a curse.

Of course, if Gregor ever did actual dealings in Storybrook, the Sheriff would have his ass in jail before he could say, lawyer!

 

Mal was visiting Trina.  The two of them were already on a good trip.  “And what brings my favorite delinquent niece here?”

Trina loved the stories that reached them about the havoc her niece caused, especially when it involved Emma in some way.  When Regina told her sister, she was taking the kid in. Trina was smiling ear to ear, Zelena gave a well,  _someone has to help the little criminal_. None committed either way. 

“I am your only delinquent niece, Aunt Trina.”

“True, and since you and yours are all turning Androgynous on me, you might be my only niece.”  Gina gave her a smile and a kiss on the cheek,

“Regina would like that, Androgynous.”

“Gods, she would kill anyone that suggests anything other than Lipstick Lesbian,” Mal answered dryly as she drank something green out of a martini glass.

Gina kissed her on the cheek as well.

“Always a ray of sunshine I see.”  Mal looked at her. 

“My gods, you are even starting to sound like her, but I suppose Regina than Emma rather.”

“Is Emma a Dyke?” Trina asked out of the blue, offering Gina the same nuclear waste green drink.  She smelled it first.  “Hmm,” she approved and downed the entire glass.  Both Mal and Trina stared at her. 

“Gina, that stuff…”

“Oh, gods…!” Gina said with a precarious voice.  The drink literary took her breath away. “By the gods, what the hell is that?”  She asked as the liquid burned its way down and she could breathe again. 

“Just a little something Mal and I cooked up this morning.”

 _Should have known_.  Trina’s cellar looked like a meth lab, except she normally only brewed alcohol in there.  Zelena was the drug brewer in the family.  Thinking of it, it was perhaps the only thing that the three Mills sisters had in common, bad drinking habits, except that Regina has cut down severely since Emma moved in, hence her visit to her aunt.

“Can I have another?”  She held the glass out to Trina. 

“Sure, just sip this one please?”

Gina nodded and took a seat.  “I am quite impressed, that you did not just drop dead after that,” Mal said simply as she sipped her own nuclear waste.

“So is Emma a Dyke?” Trina asked again. 

“What is it with all of you and your fucking labels?” Gina asked frustrated. She shook her head.  “I have been a U-Haul all my life, and now I am in a monogamous non-sexual relationship. It’s like _WTF_?  Regina and Emma were Bi-curious two weeks ago now it’s like Femme Top and Chapstick Lesbian and don’t you two sit there like angels.  I know you both like your BDMS and it’s not Robin’s thing so your labels would be bisexual switch lesbians.  How’s that?”

 

Mal looked at her and then at Trina.  “Could be the booze talking, but the delinquent has a point.”  She sipped further.

Gina forgot how much she liked to hang out with them.  Once you got to know Maleficent, she was awesome and which six-year-old could claim that they were allowed on a Dragon’s back.  Her parents did not allow it of course, but like she always said to Maleficent and the Evil Queen, what her parents and Regina did not know, could not hurt her. They had a lot of fun some days when the Evil Queen was the designated babysitter instead of Regina.  For some reason, everyone thought that because they looked the same, they were the same person, that their characters and personalities were the same.  Even with so much Regina in her, she was always the Evil Queen, just a little tempered.

“So is Emma a Dyke?” Trina asked.  _Yes_ , Gina thought, nuclear-wasted, that was why Trina would ask the same question three times. “Yes Trina, Emma is a Dyke.”

“Knew it.”  She gave a self-indulged smile and swung her braid of black hair back over her shoulder.  “So what did you name this?” Gina held her glass up in question. “Atom Bomb?”  Mal giggled, very out of character.  “On second thought, Nuclear wasted would be a better name,” Gina said.

“Fabulous!”  Trina answered. “I like it; it's sassy. Nuclear Wasted.  What do you think Mal?”

Mal smiled her sophisticated lady smile. “Nicer than greenish stuff.”

“So I named it, can I get a bottle?” Gina asked.

“Sure,” Trina said and walked into the house to go and find her sixteen-year-old niece a bottle of Nuclear Wasted.

“How is Lily?”  Mal’s eyes soften at the mention of her daughter.  “More beautiful by the day and doing so well in her job.”  Lilly was a flying instructor. She was a great pilot.  One way or another, the girl had to fly.  Trina came back with two bottles.  The one was the neon greenish liquid that was sure to put her on her ass if she was not careful, the other bottle they named Fuck Shock.

“And what exactly does Fuck Shock do?” Trina smiled one of those Evil Queen smiles.  “Just give the Dyke and the Femme some and see what happens?”

“They already hump like bunnies Trina; I really don’t need them to go into Duracell Bunny humping drive.”

“Just try it, let me know what happens? Mal and I were quite stoned when we tried it, Zelena visited the day before.”  Gina smiled, it was so easy to talk to them.  She decided to try something new.  “I haven’t slept at all in about four days.”

“Scared that the flashbacks would return?” Mal asked concerned.  Trina looked at her. “No, she is not sleeping, because Regina is happy for a change and she wants to avoid a reconnection with Emma.”  Gina exhaled. It felt good.  She drank the rest of her drink and kissed both women goodbye.  She placed her two bottles in her backpack and set off.  It felt so good not to explain, not to be questioned, having neither acceptance nor condemnation, only understanding.  Fucked if she could understand why her abnormal aunts got it and between her shrink and two mothers they would not get it. 

 

The ride back was slow and with no phenomena.  Gina was home first and hid her two bottles in a place she knew no one would ever look.  She had no idea how long these had to last.  She did decant some of the Fuck Shock into one of Regina’s crystal carafes. Placing it where the scotch normally stood.  She smiled. Gods she hoped the side effects were not too bad.

So far her plan was not working so well.  She was not drunk, she only had a slight buzz, and that would keep her calm for a while. She needed to be Gina; she needed to give a let out for her Darkness.  That was why she took the reckless bike ride in the first place. High place Phenomena or as the French termed it l’appel du vide, the call of the void.

 

The Void. Nature abhors a vacuum according to Aristotle, and right now she had to fill the void.  She was keeping the Dark One, her Darkness at bay to keep Emma and Regina safe, but here in this Realm, she had only so much control over the Dark One, and only so much of the Dark One’s powers.  She knew, the more she kept the sleep and the Darkness at bay, the more catastrophic the inevitable outburst would be.  _Was that the plan_ , she thought to herself, to do something so self-destructive that Emma and Regina would cry again.  Was she doing this to get the right tears?  “That is insane.” She said to herself allowed.

 

“What is insane?”  _Great_  Gina thought.  She turned to Emma.  “Mostly my mind, but what is new?”

Emma had a kind of sadness in her eyes.  It has been there ever since the Q and A session.  Gina assumed Regina brought Emma into the picture and explained Gina’s half concocted plan, the part that Regina understood anyway, that if she broke the curse, she would not be going back to the Enchanted Forest.  Misthaven would never be her home again; she would find a place, here in this Realm and built a new life.

 

“Can we talk?”  Emma asked unsurely.

“Is this a, you talk I listen or a, you ask questions, and I talk?” Emma has noticed a difference in Gina’s behavior the last few days, as has Regina.  With every passing day since the Q and A, Gina seemed more reckless and agitated.  She received several reports today about a bike speeding so fast that none of her deputies or officers could get a plate, but they all said it was a black bike.  There were only two in Storybrook. She knew where one of them was parked all day.

“Will you die?”

“Will I die?  What kind of question is that? Of course, I will die, everyone dies, it is one of the absolute truths.  You were born, and you are going to die. No one can argue either.”  _Great_  Emma thought, we start off with a philosophical discussion.

“What I meant was, if you break the curse, will you die?”  Gina sat there quietly for a moment.  Emma could now differentiate between; I _’m thinking_  and  _go fuck yourself_   _Gina quietness_.

“Well,” she said after a while. “Of all the people that either cast a curse or broke one, none died, except for Fiona.  We both know how that happened. So I guess no.”

“Why can’t you come with us?”

“I am the Dark One Emma, and I know you do not completely understand that, but trust me if I tell you, having a Dark One in Misthaven is a bad idea.”  She looked down for a moment. 

“It is an eternal path, a lonely path, I have had enough shit in my life Mom, I don’t want to be immortal and see everyone I love grow old and die, again and again.  Time is different in Misthaven than here, but even so, all of you will die, and one day, someone might figure out how the Dark One dagger works and kill me and the vicious perpetuation of evil versus good will continue in a land that has seen too much of it already.  If I stay, I will die as a mortal. There will never be a Dark One again.  It will stop with me.”

“Is that what you want, to end the Dark One forever?”

“Why does that sound so strange, it was something you tried to do yourself?”

“What do you mean?”

“You cast all of the Dark One souls’ into the dagger and to ensure that the pattern would not continue, you were prepared to commit suicide.  The Dark One killing herself with the Dark One dagger.” Emma looked at her in amazement.  The little frown perked up between the green eyes.  “What happened?”  Gina got up and looked out of the window so that Emma could not see her face.  It was a mixture of pain and anger.  She was shaking, ready to channel some of the Darkness to Emma through her anger.  _You fucking plunged it to the hilt into Killian_.  She tried to breathe. 

“Mr. Gold tricked you, and he became the Dark One again.”

“I thought he died as a man?”

“He sort of did, the Blue Fairy preserved his body before death, and it gave him time to heal.  He always loved the power far more than anything. It was ironic how he eventually died.”  Emma sat forward her head down, her hands together thinking. 

“Is there any way we can split the Darkness between us or leave it here in this Realm, where it cannot hurt anyone?”   _Oh sure,_ Gina thought _, all you need to do is go to Washington DC, to the Smithsonian and pull Excalibur from the stone and I can transfer your power back to you_.  The anger boiled in her now.

 

She turned to face Emma, her eyes dark with the silver specs.  Emma inhaled when she realized this  _is_  the Dark One.  “Are you fucking dense?  It is something I am trying to control, suppress and get rid off and you want to take it on and share this burden with me?  Do you even know what you were like when you had the Dark One mantle?”  Emma was actually afraid.  Gina did not coach Emma this time, neither did she warn her.

 

Her hand went out, the moment she touched Emma all the worst flashes of her being the Dark One filled the blonde's mind. She screamed as Gina merciless exposed her to the worst of herself.  She saw the moment she tortured the farmer, ripped out Meredith’s heart, her appearance as the Dark One for the first time, Mary Margaret’s reaction to her touch, turning Sneezy into a statue, Henry pulling away from her.  How she spoke to Regina and slamming the door in her face. Ripping out Violet’s heart.  Gina gave her a burst of the Darkness, the loneliness; the shun from people you used to love. The emptiness of that love in her Dark One heart, the light snuffed out and then finally her look of love at Killian, how she stepped back and plunged Excalibur into Killian, the sword sticking out of his back and his face as he looked at her, his tears, his death in her arms.

 

Gina felt more in control of herself the moment she let go of Emma, it was a small reprieve, but it might sustain her for a few days, keeping the Darkness where it should be, buried.  

“This Emma, this is what I am trying to save you from, to save all the Realms from.  That good, capable, loving person turning into that!”  Emma was laying on the floor, her shoulders shaking as guilt and sorrow raked cries through her body. For her emotionally it was worse than the moment she shared with Gina when the girl became the Dark One.

 

Gina went to the kitchen and got some glasses and soda.  She poured Emma and herself a stiff Nuclear-Wasted and filled the rest of the glass with soda to take the edge off a bit.

 

“Come Sheriff.”  She lifted Emma from the floor and placed her on the bed.  Emma did not even register the young girl’s strength. She was sitting up, crying and her legs pulled up.  Gina gave her the drink, with an,  _it will help_.  Emma emptied the glass and Gina gave her another one.  She drank it slower but Gina could already see her body relax.  She walked out onto the balcony and had a cigarette while swallowing her drink.  The connection had a toll on Gina as well.  It was one thing to have the memory in your head because you share a kind of conscience with a person and an entirely another thing to see it and feel the emotions going with it.  What shook Gina up was how hard Emma fought the Darkness, that she trusted Regina with her fate and not Killian.

 

“I think I understand now.”  The voice behind her was stronger than what she expected. 

“I am sorry I did that Emma, you did not deserve to be on the other end of my anger.”  She turned her daughter around to face her.  She said nothing about the smoking or the drinking. 

“This is what you are fighting every day? That is why you sleep so little, while you are awake, you can control it when you sleep, the Dark One has control.”

Gina wished it was as simple as that.

“Emma, you and Merlin were the only two who had the strength to fight off the Darkness.  I feel most days that I am losing this battle. I do not want to become either a puppet for someone else’s evil purpose or abuse the power that I have to cause misery. But I started this battle with a disadvantage. It is certainly not getting easier.”  Emma nodded and started to walk off. Over her shoulder, she spoke to Gina again.

“Regina will not take this well.”  Gina swallowed the last of her drink. 

“Good thing then that I cannot get the tears I need.”  Emma listened to the way she said it, more than what she said.  She turned back to face Gina. 

“But you figured out a plan, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I have a plan, a fucked up one, but I have a plan.”  Emma stared at her long and hard and then left the room. On her way out, Gina asked her the question.

”Please look after her, take care of each other.  What the two of you have is very special, together you will survive anything.”  Emma looked at her boots for a moment. “I promise.”


	30. Snow and Frost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of F/F fluff

**Chapter 30**

 

The school grounds felt alive; there was such a hyped buzz all around.  Yes, spring break was only a week long, but the Storybrook spring festival was Saturday, and everyone was looking forward to it. Once the final bell chimed, they would be free.

“What is it about?” Gina asked Jaden as they ate lunch with the boys. Jaden shrugged her shoulders. “I do not know; I have never actually gone to one.  Tomorrow night there is a formal dance, at the town hall, that is all I know.”

Gina bit back a smile.   _Was that a subtle request to be asked to the dance?_   Jaden only got a frown. “What about you two?”

“Normally do patrols with my dad,” Jason said with food in his mouth. He swallowed. “It’s like that miner’s day thing, just bigger. Everything about it sucks if you ask me?”  Gina looked at Neal, “I suppose Charming Jr. goes every year?”  He gave her an annoyed look. 

“I have a date to entertain every year.  It makes up for my mother’s enthusiasm.”  Gina smiled at him.  Yup, the constant optimism of the Charming’s, that alone would be enough for her to try and strangle herself.

 

“Henry is bringing his new love tomorrow.” She said absently.  “Think it is the real thing?”  Neal asked.  “Guess we will see what the future brings.”  She already knew more about Rapz and her past than what Henry was aware of.  Her Dark One premonition power worked when it felt like it.  She only got a glimpse, but it was enough to know that she was indeed Princess Rapunzel.

*******

Henry forgot how bad it was driving all the way from Boston to Storybrook.  But with Rapz with him, the travel seemed shorter.  He decided to come down a day earlier; he had to talk to his mothers.  The closer they came to Storybrook, the tighter his nerves became. Gina did give him a heads up on the situation in the mansion.  His brain stood still for several moments at the news. She added that his mothers do not want him to know about it, that they want to discuss it with him face to face first.  He dreaded the thought of it.  He was happy for them, but sex talk with your mothers was not exactly what he had in mind.  The most pressing thing in his life right now was to discover how much power Gina had and what she could do with it.  Neal told him nothing.  He saw Gina every day. He always said that she was fine.  Neither of them knew about the flashback episode she had.

 

Gina was home early, she called Regina, “Hey I need your help badly?”

“What is wrong?” Regina asked concerned, ready to leave

“Nothing, I need…  _augh_ … I need clothes.”

“Are you naked?”  Regina asked confused.

“No, just please meet me at Model Mystique?  Please?”  Silence. “Mom, did you hear me?”

“Yes, of course, dear, I will meet you there right now.”  Regina looked at her cell; she decided to call Emma.  “Hey, you said that Gina is planning something, you know to break the curse.  Would it involve shopping at Model Mystique?”

“What?”  Emma yelled.  Model Mystique was Regina’s shop, she and Gina went to the local trade shop.  “So this could be it?”

“Regina, no, no diabolical plan in buying clothes, you just caught me off guard.  Why would she want to go and shop at Mystique’s?”

“I do not know Miss Swan. If I knew the answer to that, I would not be calling you.”

“Okay, okay, try and find out and give me a heads up if something happens?”  Emma felt flushed.

 

Regina tapped the phone in her hand.  This was very out of character for Gina.  She grabbed her bag and locked the office.  The black Mercedes stopped in front of the boutique at the same time Gina arrived.  She gave Regina a half smile and walked into the shop.  Regina got an unfortunate flashback from the Rodeo Drive scene from  _Pretty Women_.  She got out of the car to go and save the poor sales girl.  And a scene it was when she walked in.  Tanya was following Gina’s every step as if she was about to shoplift something.  The leather-clad biker turned and gave her a menacing growl. 

 

“Tanya dear.” Regina’s voice washed relief over the girl.  She tripled over to Regina on the high heels. “Madam Mayor, what a surprise.”  She gave Regina her best smile and then she leaned in.  “I need to keep an eye on that one, gods know why she picked this shop, we do not have jeans.”

“Maybe she needs something in leather?”  The girl’s eyes shot up. “We don’t keep biker leathers.  Oh, gods, she is in the silk section, she is going to get grease on it.”  Regina watched the girl triple over to Gina. She had a casual stance, her one leg slightly pushed out, her arms folded across her chest. She looked fabulous. Gina turned her head a bit as she looked Regina up and down.  High hills, silk stockings, black business dress with a slight sleeve, the V of the dress falling just right, tempting, but not revealing.

 

“Not gonna be able to pull that one off, so some assistance would be appreciated?” Her voice raised higher, and she half yelled at Regina over the assistants head.  The girl cringed. 

“I am so sorry Madam Mayor, she must have mistaken you for the owner.”

The girl gave Gina a look. Gina gave her the angry stare.  Regina’s lip curled up slightly in a smile, prompting the sexy scar on her lip to move.  She was sure Tanya wetted herself.

 

“It is alright Tanya; please forgive my daughter’s insolence.” 

“Daughter?”  She looked from one to the other and was only when she got  _the_   _look_ from both women that she tried to say something, indicated with her finger to the front of the shop and disappeared.  Regina had a full smile now as she bumped her baby girl with her shoulder.  “You are so bad.”

“Really?  The chick was like totally in my space. Fucking bad vibes, I wanna pop her head.  Slowly”

“Are you nervous?”

“No, hell, why should I be nervous?”

Regina turned her head and gave her daughter  _the_   _look_.   _Damn, she was good_.  Gina smiled self-aware, Regina gave her a different, more enquiring look.  She has never seen Gina like this.  “What is going on?”  Her voice had a pitch of Mayor.  

“Fine. But first, tell me how did you know I was nervous?”  Gina asked.

“You start speaking like a teenage Irish gangster.”

Gina considered the observation.  “Alright, apparently there is a formal dance on tomorrow?”

“Yes.”  The Mayor said slowly.

“I considered asking Jaden to go… with me…to the dance.”

“Oh Honey.”  She pulled her daughter in for a loving hug.  After the hug, she held Gina at arm’s length; she looked so young when she was uncertain or out of her depth. “That is wonderful, what will she be wearing?”

“I don’t know; I have not asked her yet,” Gina said shyly.

“But you are picking out a dress for yourself?”

 

Regina got a  _really-face_. She just pulled up her shoulders and indicated with her hands that she was clueless.  She got another  _augh_  for her efforts.

“Getting something to wear is the first obstacle, then I need to go over there and ask her if it would be alright with her.”  Regina still had no idea what the fuss was.

“Mom, not only would it be our first official date, Jaden would be coming out of the closet, I need a dress so that she would not have to deal with the narrow-minded stereotyping of  _who’s the man and who’s the woman_  in this relationship, bullshit.  I want us to be Gina and Jaden, two girls at a dance.”

Regina had a slight glimmer in her eyes.  She pulled her hands together in front of her, over her heart.  “That is so sweet and thoughtful. You are such an amazing girl.”  Regina pulled her into a hug again,  Gina allowed for the mother-daughter bonding session. 

 

After a while, she pulled away.  “So can we get me something that will not make me look like a complete Femme but I don’t want to do the Glamour Butch thing either.”

Regina opened her eyes wide.  “Glamour Butch?”

“Yeah,” Gina replied while looking through various dresses. “Nice suit or tuxedo. Stereotyping. Man, woman.”  Regina bit her lower lip; she was starting to catch on.  Gina was busy pulling different stuff out, and she held it up against Regina.  One by one she placed it back. 

“Are we shopping for you or me?”  Regina asked after a while.  

“Mom,” it almost came out as a whine, “You have immaculate taste.  It’s a hard act to follow, but… What kind of dresses does Emma wear?”  She thought back to her mothers’ third date.  “Never mind.”

 

She held up a black skirt and a red shirt in front of Regina.  “You do realize that I have something very similar in my wardrobe?”

“Yes, I am aware, and you will not be wearing it tomorrow night.”

“What I meant was that instead of buying something, you could borrow something.”

Regina tilted her head to get Gina’s attention.  When she did look up, Regina got a  _really-face_. “What?”  She asked, “It is perfectly natural for mothers and daughters to sometimes share clothes.”

“With these shoulders? I will rip all your stuff, besides your…” She indicated with her hand to Regina’s torso. “bust is more…well, more than mine.”  Regina looked at her utterly amused. 

“You can give women orgasms with a kiss, but you cannot say breasts?” Regina emphasized the word slowly. “Mom!”  Gina looked flustered.  Regina gave a healthy laugh. “Besides, that is just a rumor, and one that I do not know where you heard it.”

 

She looked around a bit more, turned to Regina and announced.  “I will do you both.”

“Excuse me?”  Regina asked.  Gina looked at her.  “Leather and lace.”  She held up something in red leather and something lacy.  Regina got it.  Gina picked up a few more things and headed to the dressing room.  Regina heard some scuffling.  “Mom, can you please get me some of those silk stockings things that just come up to your thighs.”

“Suspenders?”

“Yes, and there is a pair of black come fuck me, gladiator sandals, size seven, can you get me those too?”  Regina thought about the description of the shoes and surprisingly knew exactly which one’s Gina referred to.  She came back with the required items and gave it to Gina through a slightly open door.  “Will Jaden still be a virgin after tonight?”

“Mom!”  Regina smiled as she sat down on one of the chairs in the changing area.  Now was a good time for a talk she thought.  She did not want to raise the subject Emma and Gina spoke about; it had upset her endlessly.   “Why are you so agitated lately?”

“I am not sleeping.” Came the muffled reply through the curtain.

“Why on earth are you not sleeping?”  The moment the words were out of her mouth a rich blush crept up on her.  She got up and walked over to the stall Gina was changing in.

“Honey, are we keeping you up?”

“Yes,” Gina grunted as she tried to get comfortable in the clothes she was trying on.

“Not in the way you think though.”  Her arm shot out of the curtain with the red leather; I need a size bigger please?”  Regina took the garment.  “So, if we,” She said the  _we_  in such a way that there could be no misunderstanding. “are not keeping you up, why are you not sleeping?”

“Emh Mom, there is this thing Emma, and I share…”  She did not get further.  Regina clung to the drapes and pushed her head through.  Her face told its owe story. “And that,” Gina pointed to her face, “is the exact reason why I am not sleeping.”  Regina relaxed and pulled her head back.

“So you haven’t?”

“No gods Mom, I would never invade either of your privacy like that.  Besides, I don’t want to; I might kill Emma the next day.”  Regina composed herself a bit.  “So how long has it been since you last slept?”

“A couple of days.”  Regina shook her head. “Since the morning you slept in Jaden’s bed?” She questioned concerned.  “That might be right.”

“Gina, that was over a week ago.”  Gina sighed, she was all too aware of it. “That cannot be good for you, even for someone that sleep as little as you do.”

“No Mom, it is not good for anyone.”

 

Regina came back with the size bigger, red leather that she had no idea what it was.  She handed it to Gina.  “Thanks.”  She fiddled a bit.  “I am going to need earrings and makeup, can you help me with that?”

“Sure Honey.” 

Gina pushed a bunch of stuff through the curtain.  “I will not be wearing those; please ask Mary Margaret Jr. to put them back?”  Regina let out a short laugh. 

“She is quite capable.”  She called Tanya and gave her the heap of clothes. She frowned, as Regina did, she had no idea what Gina picked. Regina came back and asked her daughter if she was ready.  Gina was very tempted to pack everything up and buy it, but she shyly asked Regina if she was ready to have a look.

“But, if you laugh, I will never set foot in public again.”  Gina opened the curtains, Regina’s mouth dropped to the ground. “Wow!”  Gina gave her a grateful smile.  “Think Jaden would like it?”  Regina took her by the hand and turned her around.  “You look lovely dear.”  Gina sighed relieved and hopped into the stall to take the items off and get back into her biker boots, jeans, and leathers.

 

Regina saw to it that everything was boxed and packed by the time she returned.  Tanya was scanning each item, it was not completely Regina’s taste, but a mixture of the two Mills woman before her.  When she looked at the credit card, it said, Gina Snow.  She looked at the Mayor. 

“Is there a problem Tanya?”  She swallowed hard, “The name on the card Madam Mayor.”

“Oh for fuck sakes, would you prefer cash?”  Gina pulled the chain wallet that Henry gave her out and placed the correct amount on the counter.  She took the packets and left, looking for Regina’s car.  Regina stayed behind. 

“Tanya, if you ever question my daughter’s integrity like that again, I will make sure this shop will go out of business.  Good day to you.”  She added with one of her over friendly sarcastic smiles.

 

Gina’s temper was not far away.  “I thought you said they treat you like a lady in there?”

“Normally they do.”

“I need to get more stuff, can you take this home for me?” Gina asked her mother.

“Sure, Gina, when will you be back?”

“Before supper, promise Mom.”  She kissed Regina on the cheek and crossed the road to enter another shop.  By the time she had everything she had thought she might need, she headed over to the Frost house.

 

Jaden had a smile on her face the moment she heard the Vulcan a few blocks away.

She was waiting for Gina on the porch. Leaning her slender figure casually against one of the posts.  Before she took her helmet off, Gina looked at her and thought she had never seen anything more beautiful in her life.

Jaden had a long summer maxi beach dress on with a side slit in a light blue, a shade darker than her eyes, she was barefoot, and Gina could see she had already painted her toes and fingers the same shade of blue. Her nails on both ring fingers had a white snowflake design on them.  Gina felt an emotion stir in her that she did not understand and it took a while to get herself under control, which was becoming harder with every day of sleepless nights.

 

“You look beautiful.”  Gina smiled at her when she finally met the girl on the porch.  She stood a step lower than Jaden, bringing them level in height. Gina looked at her perfect breasts where they were heaving with every breath Jaden took.  She had a look in her eyes and Gina was sure this girl was about to devour her.  She felt her body respond to the look. 

Jaden could not take the eye fucking any longer, she took a breath and let her slender fingers glide over Gina’s lips.  Stopping with a feather-light touch on Gina’s jaw as her thumb brushed over the sensational lips.  She leaned forward. Pulled Gina in ever so slightly.  Gina’s mind stopped as Jaden’s soft lips landed on hers.  There was no demand in the kiss; it was painfully slow and gentle.  It took all of her strength not to take command, lift Jaden off her feet and press her against the front door, letting the girl know exactly what she wanted.  Her insides contracted and she could feel her abdominal muscles growing tight.  She felt Jaden’s hand slip from her jaw, slide down her neck before she took hold of the black leather collar, she pulled away from the kiss and led Gina through the front door by the collar.  If Gina were not so turned on, she would have found it funny.  This slender young woman, commanding the Dark One with a touch and leading her by the collar.

 

The front door closed, Gina immediately turned them around.  Her eyes were dark, and Jaden matched her lust with a blazing look. Gina did not wait, she lifted Jaden up and pressed her into the door.  The slit of the dress fell open over her thigh, Gina lifted the bare leg up, running her hand over the soft flesh while kissing Jaden demandingly. She could feel her need rising.  She placed the bare leg around her waist, Jaden was open to her, the only item in the way a light blue G-string.  She grabbed Jaden’s left hand with her right and folded her fingers over the delicate hand, surprised at the strength with which Jaden pressed back.  Gina pinned their hands high above Jaden’s head, it unbalanced her, and she held on tighter with her right leg around Gina’s waist.  Gina pulled away from the intense kissing for a moment to look at Jaden’s eyes.  Her eyes conveyed something that stirred Gina deep.  She started kissing her again. Her left hand slipped up between Jaden’s leg that was grounding her and the slit of the dress.  Her hand on Jaden’s thigh, her thumb rubbed lightly over the tender wanting flesh underneath the blue lace.

 

Jaden inhaled sharply at the contact, both her hand and leg went tighter around the dark girl.  Gina needed a release, but she was also trying to keep the Darkness down.  She wanted Jaden like she never wanted a girl in her life before.  All her muscles were taut. She wanted to fuck this young woman in her arms senseless.  She wanted to taste her, consume her, possess her.  Her breath was ragged, and she continued her soft ministrations over Jaden’s need.  Jaden squeezed Gina’s hand hard. They were both shaking with hunger, she arched her head against the back of the door, trying to get more friction from Gina by pressing her hips forward.  Gina could smell her need, feeling it soaking through the lace, it was driving her to a point where everything stood still.

 

She pulled her hand away and pinned Jaden down with both hands, at the move Jaden naturally wrapped her other leg around Gina’s waist, completely open to her.  Gina did not hesitate for a second as she thrust hard into Jaden.  The girl gasped at the contact, turning her head and Gina took the access to bite down on the open wanting neck of Jaden, just below her ear.  She was careful not to leave a mark.  The new sensation pushed Jaden close to the edge, and between her heavy breaths, she started moaning, inspiring Gina to stop the thrusting and keep the contact between them, moving her hips in a motion to meet each of Jaden’s moans. She grind herself hard against the lace.  Her jean giving the moaning girl the kind of friction that played havoc with her ever-increasing wetness.  She felt a build-up, she wanted this more than she had ever wanted something.  She threw her head back again, meeting Gina’s demanding rocking. “Fuck! Gods Gina, please, fuck me harder!”

 

Hearing the request nearly made Gina cum just there, she complied, as Jaden’s moaning became harder, she felt her movement becoming fast and hard. Her hands were holding on tighter. “Oh, gods Jaden!”  She yelled out as an incredible release swept through her, she kept on thrusting, and on the second explosion, Jaden joined her with the same intensity in the release, yelling Gina’s name, digging her nails into the hands that were holding her.  They were both shaking and breathing hard.  Gina released one hand and slipped it between their bodies and ran it lightly over the soaked blue lace. Jaden had another electric shock run through her body.  She clung to the black leather jacket, unable to stand.  They stayed like that until Jaden thought it safe to unwrap herself from Gina’s waist.  She looked up into the green eyes that have lost their dark lust. Her mouth opened and Gina swallowed whatever words were there with a delicate kiss.  Jaden’s hands raked into the silver hair and slipped away in the kiss.

********

Gina was standing outside in the backyard of the Frost house, smoking her second cigarette.  Jaden played havoc with her emotions.  When she felt like she had control over herself again, she turned to go back into the house.  Jaden was standing there, leaning against a closed back door.  Gina walked up to her, her eyes smiling just for Jaden.  “Now Miss Frost, it was you leaning like that looking all sexy and fabulous that got us into trouble in the first place today.”

She was close to Jaden, feeling her breath, looking down into the blue eyes.  Jaden’s hand came up and cupped the beautiful face in front of her, running her thumb lightly over the sickle moon scar under her left eye.  “Are you sorry?” She asked softly and very serious.  Gina took the hand into her own, turning it palm up and kissing first inside of the palm and ended with a full kiss on the slender wrist.  The sensation made Jaden close her eyes again. She felt something, something that she was not sure she was ready for.

 

Gina whispered in her ear as she turned her hand again to lace their fingers together. “No Love, that was wonderful,  I am glad we could share something like that, together.”  She lifted Jaden’s face to look at her as she said the last word.  Jaden felt it again. Like a burning ache in her heart while feeling intense joy at the same time.  Gina smiled a warm smile at her.  “Thank you for that love and ecstasy Jaden.” The words were so honest and heartfelt that it brought tears to Jaden’s eyes.

She wanted to say something again, but Gina swallowed the words with a soft kiss. “I did come here today Miss Frost, for more than just mind-blowing orgasms.”  Jaden took on a slight blush, secretly the words pleased her, it was what she wanted to share with Gina for a while now, and she did not know if she could or would do it correctly. She decided to flirt openly. She looked down, after the blush and when she looked back up to Gina, it was with a hungry eyelash stare. “So tell me about the mind-blowing part again?”

 

 _Oh, gods!_  Gina cringed on the inside. She licked her lips and wagged a finger at Jaden.  “Now Miss Frost  _that_  is an abuse of power.”  Jaden closed the gap and ran her flat palm through the opening of Gina’s jacket, sliding her hand over the taut abs, between her breasts to come to rest with her forefinger in Gina’s pulse point that was throbbing just as hard as another part of her anatomy. Jaden was fascinated, she looked strangely young and innocent for a moment before she asked huskily.  “I have power over you?”

 

Gina swallowed.  Her eyes were penetrating, the darker green creeping in slightly, Jaden had to swallow at what she saw there.   _Leading the Dark One by her collar?_  “Yes Miss Frost, you have great power over me.”  She allowed for the honesty and seriousness to settle with Jaden before she continues.  “The reason why I came over was to ask you if would please accompany me to the dance, tomorrow night?” The excitement in Jaden wanted to boil over.

“Would that be considered a date Miss Snow?”  Gina got a serious look again.

“Only if you want it to be Jay.”  Jaden turned her head, both her mother and Gina used the shorter version of her name when they felt that they had to protect her. 

“Of cause, I will go with you Gina, date, no date.”  She looked down, “I only want to be with you.”  To her own ears, it sounded pathetic, for Gina it gave meaning and purpose to her life and choices.   She did not mind the tear that fell, she wiped one more with her right hand, as she looked at her beautiful princess.  She smiled sadly at Jaden. 

“What I meant Jay, is yes, I would very much like this to be our first date, but everyone we know will also know and see it as a date.”

Jaden caught on.  “Has that ever bothered you before?”

“Jay, no, it hasn’t, and this is not about me.  People know that I am a gay lady, but if you go to the dance with me as my date, they will assume that you are as well.”

Jaden frowned.  “You do not think that I am a lesbian?”   _Oh, fuck, labels again_.

“It does not matter to me Jaden. You are my friend and someone I care deeply about.  It will never matter to me what your chosen orientation is.  I just do not want to place you in a situation where you can get hurt due to other people’s inconsideration or ignorance.”

“So a date it is?”  She asked shyly through her eyelashes.  Gina’s heart nearly stopped.

“It would be my honor, Miss Frost.”  She looked uncomfortable for a moment.  She did not plan to do it today, but with everything that had happened, she felt it be the appropriate opportunity.  Her tummy flipped at the thought.

 

She took Jaden by the hand and led her to the two-seater bench under the enormous oak growing there.  She sat Jaden down and reached for something in her pocket. “I know school kids don’t go steady any longer, but it is a special tradition that I would like to honor.  If you date a girl, she wears your ring.”  She took Jaden’s right hand in hers and slipped the ring onto her ring finger.  She closed her hand over it so that Jaden could not see it yet.  “Would that be alright Jay?”

“Yes.”  She replied with her smiling tears.  Gina kissed her, when Jaden moaned in her mouth again, she pulled away. “You are driving me, crazy woman.”

 

Jaden felt the words stir her.  “What will you wear?” Gina blushed. Jaden looked at her curious.  “I will have a skirt and a jacket on, and the jacket is burgundy.”

“A skirt?” Gina just smiled. “Well if I did not make my mind up before, I will most definitely go with you just to see that.”  Gina blushed in a way Jaden had never seen. “Are you doing it just for me? To sidestep the stereotype of two girls dating?”

“Yes, for you Jaden I will do anything.”  Gina chased kissed her on the cheek and left in haste around the corner.  Jaden was still processing the implications of Gina’s words when her left hand automatically went to the perfect fitting ring on her right hand.  She looked down and gasped.  _Snow_   _and Frost_ she thought as tears of love fell silently.

 

Gina walked into the kitchen at 108 Mifflin with what Emma thought to be the most stupid love-struck shit face smile she had ever seen.  Her blond mother gave her a questioning eyebrow.  Gina’s eyes just sparkled more. Regina turned to look at her. “I take it she said yes?”

“Yeah.”  She answered with a shy smile and walked off. Behind her, Emma yelled.  “Do I need to talk to you about sex again?” Gina turned and popped her head back into the kitchen.  “Sure, as soon as you are as good at it as I am Sheriff.”  Emma’s mouth fell open, Regina laughed.  Her daughter was in a good mood and happy, Henry was on his way, life was absolutely perfect!


	31. You love my daughter very much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soppy Chapter  
> Thank you for the continued support and please let me know what you think?

**Chapter 31**

 

The yellow Bug stopped at the mansion while they were having supper.  It was perfect timing.  Henry called Neal as soon as he drove into Storybrook.  Gina helped her mother to make space for the three new arrivals.  She was still on a high, she held onto Henry for a long time, she saw the seriousness in his eyes, she knew it was there for a conversation with her.  She had hoped they were past that.  He obviously had something on his mind.

 

Rapz seemed far shyer than what she was.  Henry told her a lot about his family, but seeing them together, she could not think of a more attractive happy family than these women.  She could see how all three adored Henry.  The six of them fell into a happy, relaxed conversation about their lives since winter break.  Rapz caught Henry frowning at his baby sister a few times.  Gina was too pleased, her day was spectacular, and she did not want Henry and his shit to upset her.

Rapz started to relax after a while, Henry was right, his family loved her.  She was relieved as well, they all seemed normal, the back of her mind still questioned what she heard Henry say about Gina, but she was just a cheerful teen from what Rapz could make out.

Henry tried to get Neal’s attention, but he was too busy telling Gina about his date for tomorrow. Gina’s stupid grin was back.  Henry frowned so deeply that Rapz leaned in and asked him what was the matter?  He only shrugged.  His mothers also seemed to radiate at least Gina warned him.

 

They moved to the lounge and after eleven Neal kissed them all and made his way back to his home.  Gina had seen him off, and she watched the dark where he disappeared on his skateboard only a moment ago.  Her instincts told her something was about to happen, and it became increasingly important to her to let the people around her know how much she loved them.  She shook the omen from her mind, she walked back into the house.

 

Henry and Rapz decide it was a good time to leave for the boathouse.  She kissed Henry on his lips and handed him a silver flask.  He looked at her in question.  She had to stand on her toes to whisper in his ear.  “I know you have questions, I do not have the answers for you, this is water from the well, for Rapz, just in case.”  He pulled away and looked at his sister; she gave him a sad smile. Gina kissed him again.  “I like your princess, by the way, I really do.”  She said it soft enough so that just he could hear.

***********

 

She stood in her bedroom looking at the two items in her hand.  She placed them back in their boxes and made her way to the main bedroom.  She knocked. Regina pulled away from Emma and wiped her lips with a perfect finger, her eyes full of naughty darkness, but she had a smile on her face.  “Come in Honey?”  Gina popped her head in.  Emma gave her the evil eye, and she smiled slightly. 

“Sorry for the interruption,” she pushed the door open.  “I just wanted to thank you for today mom.  She walked over to Regina, she gave her a kiss and a hug before she slipped a small box into Regina’s hand.  Her dark mother gave her a questioning look.  She shrugged. 

“Just a little something to say thanks.”  She made her way back to the door.  “Just so that you know, Jaden and I are officially dating.” Emma raised both brows.  No wonder she looked so in love. “I’m happy for you Gina.”  She had her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, her smile was one of worry and care. Gina walked back and kissed her blond mother on the cheek.  As she stood back, she took one of Emma’s arms out of the back pocket and placed a box in her hand.

“Night moms, can you keep it down a bit tonight.”

“We will try,” Regina answered smiling through her tears.  It felt like she was growing up so fast.  Emma was still looking at the box in her hand, Gina had long since left.

“Are you going to open it?”  Regina asked in a husky voice.  She already looked at hers, and it moved her deeply. 

 

Emma flicked the lid open.  It was a white gold pendant.  A Celtic knot, she was sure. Regina peeked over her hands.  They got the same thing.  Regina walked over to one of the boxes on her dresser and pulled out a chain slightly shorter than Emma’s sliding ring.  The pendant would sit slightly beneath her pulse point.  She took the pendant from Emma’s box and laced the chain through it.  Emma pulled her hair back, Regina placed the item around her neck.  It looked beautiful.

“This is nice,” Emma said as she looked at it.  “What did you get?”

“Same thing,” Regina answered huskily than her normal voice due to all the emotion. Only then did Emma look up from where she held the pendant in her hand to Regina.  “What is the matter?” Regina had a smile, but she seemed sad at the same time.  “You clearly do not know what it is?”

“Sure, it is a Celtic knot.”

Regina sat down on the bed and studied Emma, her hand over her mouth.  “It is not any Celtic knot Emma. It is the symbol of mother and daughter.” Emma looked at her lover and then back to the pendant.  “She accepts me as her mother?”

“It would seem so Miss Swan.”

***********

Elsa worked night shift in the ER.  It was quiet, no critical emergencies.  She had enough sleep for the night, so Jaden found her mother in the kitchen making breakfast.  Elsa noticed a difference in her daughter straight away.  She analyzed her mood and behavior for a while.  Jaden help her with the final preparations and set places for them at the antique round table next to the window in the kitchen, where they always ate together.  Jaden smiled wider as she looked out back and remembered Gina.  When she turned, her mother was standing behind her; it gave her a small fright.  She saw something in her mother’s eyes; she had never seen before.  She was angry.

Elsa took her daughter's right hand.  Her voice strained.  “What is this?”  Jaden blushed and then smiled at her mother.  Elsa could not help but feel happy when she saw the utter joy and excitement Jaden was displaying.  Her eyes turned a little softer.

“Isn’t it beautiful Mamma?  Gina gave it to me yesterday.”  She smiled shyly again.  “She asked me to the dance tonight, and then she gave me this.  She was so sweet, and she said that it is a tradition that when you date a girl that she wears your ring.  And it is so us.”  Her voice traveled off as she said the last part, looking at the ring on her finger.

 

“A dating ring? May I, please see it?”  Elsa did not want to be the one to cause her daughter pain, but to her, that was not a mere dating ring.  “Sure!”  Jaden said as she placed the ring into her mother’s palm a probing frown between her eyes.  Elsa turned the ring around in her hand.  It was indeed beautiful.  The ring itself was about five millimeters wide. There was a snowflake design, gems the same color as Jaden’s eyes and then a Celtic love knot. The pattern repeating three times.  Elsa had no idea what to do with the ring.  Clearly, it was customized work from the local jeweler, and Gina had to have it ordered months ago.

Elsa took Jaden’s hand and indicated for her to sit.  She kept the ring. 

“Honey this is not a dating ring.”

“What do you mean?”

Elsa sighed.  “Jaden, this is an Irish engagement ring.”  Jaden looked at her mother in shock.  “What do you mean?”  Elsa took out her phone and googled Celtic engagement rings and showed Jaden the result.  The young girl could not understand the implication, on the screen she saw several rings that look almost like hers, Celtic knots and diamonds or other gems.  “So?  She had a silver ring made for me with gemstones, what is the issue?

“About two thousand dollars.”

“What!”  Jaden did not understand.  “Honey, this ring is a 10ct white gold ring with three 0.1ct blue diamonds.  Honey this is a wedding ring.”  Jaden looked at her mother, then to the ring, she took the ring from Elsa, she did not take it off since Gina placed it there.  She looked on the inside the ring, the stamp read 416ct.  She looked at the ring from a new perspective.  She looked up to her mom.  “She asked me to date mom; she did not propose.”

“Either way Jaden, you cannot keep that.”  She saw the utter disappointment on the young face.  She knew that Jaden would not oppose her, she also noticed the new glint in her eyes as she processed the information.  _Dear Gods_ , Elsa thought,  _they are only children_.

 

Jaden did not speak to her mother on the short drive to the Mayor’s house.  She kept turning the ring that was now between the first and second lit of her forefinger.  If this was an engagement ring, she felt what the answer would be, so did her mother and she had a feeling that was the reason why they were parked in front of the mansion now.  The sparkle was still in Jaden’s eyes, but her facial features had sadness to them that was not there an hour ago.  Elsa hated being the villain, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she kept telling herself that she is overreacting.  She breathed deep and took the ring from her baby girl.  She felt horrible.  Jaden followed her up the path to the front door, she knocked, and a moment later Emma opened.  Elsa’s eyes fell on the pendant around her neck.  Like Regina, she like nice things, she had expensive taste and a trained eye for the genuine article.  Emma followed her eyes; she was still so thrilled with the gift.

 

“Did Gina give you that?”  Emma’s smile said it all.  “Nice, Celtic mother and daughter knot, set in white gold.  You give her too much pocket money.”  Elsa was annoyed, and she passed Emma without actually being invited. 

“Who is getting too much pocket money?”  Regina asked as she came from the kitchen.  “Hello Elsa, Jaden, this is a surprise.”  She smiled at both Frost women, Elsa noticed the same pendant around Regina’s neck. 

“Your daughter, you are giving her too much pocket money.  There is no need for the two of you to overcompensate for her past.”  Regina gave her a questioning raised an eyebrow.  “Seems that Gina has been in a very generous mood?”  She pointed to the pendant around Regina’s neck.  Regina smiled almost as much as what Emma did.  Elsa placed the ring in Regina’s hand.  “Jaden told me that Gina gave her that as  _her_  ring that they are now officially dating.”  Regina looked from the ring to Elsa, understanding the worry there. Then to Jaden, understanding her sadness. As she looked to Emma.  Emma indicated that she had no idea what was going on.  Regina handed the ring to Emma. “Wow!”  She did not have the sophisticated taste of any of these three women, but she clearly understood what the fuss was about.  “This is…”

“Quite the ring.” Regina finished the sentence.

“Did you know about this?”  Elsa asked.

“Why don’t we go and sit down?”  Regina asked, but she knew her friend too well.  Elsa wanted an answer. 

“She told us last night that she asked Jaden to the dance and that they are now officially dating.  We did not know about the ring, but it makes sense, she was raised by some very traditional men.”

“That is not the point.”

“I get it, Elsa, I really do, but we had nothing to do with it and if  _this_ ,” She held up the ring to Elsa. “If this is what Gina feels she wants to give to Jaden as a dating ring,” She articulated the  _dating_. “Then I am happy for both our daughters.”  Regina saw a faint glimpse of hope in Jaden’s eyes.

“Regina, this is a two thousand dollar ring!”

 

Gina came out of nowhere.  Her entrance brought the sparkle back into Jaden’s eyes, and she was wearing her usual shorts and a tank top, she clearly only got up. She smiled at Jaden, kissed Emma morning on the cheek, then Regina, and as she did, she took the ring from her mother and walked pass Elsa.  Her eyes never leaving Jaden, she placed the ring back on her right-hand ring finger, while she addressed Elsa.

“It is a custom design and craftsmanship, with blue diamonds, it costs significantly more than two thousand dollars.  I have the certificate for the gold and diamonds if you want to keep it for Jaden?”  She said over her shoulder to Elsa, when she turned back, she gave Jaden a soft kiss on the lips, then looked down to the ring on the fingers she held in her hand.  “Do you like it?”

“Yes, but…”

“No buts!”  She kissed the girl on the cheek this time and laced their fingers together behind her back as she spoke to Emma quickly and quietly.  “Please keep her busy for a moment and try to find out what she is wearing tonight.”  To Emma, it felt like Operation Cinderella, and she gladly took Jaden’s hand while Gina formally asked Elsa to join her upstairs.  Regina followed Emma.

 

As they walked up to her room, side by side Gina asked, “In your professional opinion, from a psychological point of view, what does that ring tell you about Jaden and me?”

“That you love my daughter very much.”  Gina turned to her as she showed her into the room at the end of the hall,

“And that is where you are making the mistake Doctor Frost.”

Elsa had not seen Gina’s new room; she was very stunned.  This room had all of Gina’s personality in it. The bedding and curtains were blue and black, but the curtains were open, and the light from the balcony was streaming through.  She saw that there was two deck chairs place there and for some reason, she thought that Gina would sleep there most nights.  Her prison Lilo and Stitch cards were framed and hung together on one wall.  There was a Boston Bruins flag hanging over her bed, and Elsa realized that some of Gina’s shirts were not only Hockey jerseys but Boston Bruins.  Then there were the photos.  Some were framed, some were just pasted to her workbench, there was a beautiful one of Jaden laughing on her study table.  This was Gina, all the scars, all the past and all the new happy memories.  She felt that she was intruding all of a sudden, then she saw a photo of herself and Jaden, looking at each other, holding hands, smiling.  She did not realize that she was being studied for a change.  Elsa picked up the photo. 

“She looks so much like you sometimes.”  Elsa placed the photo back.  Her mind returning to the matter at hand.

“You were saying that I was wrong?”

“I said you were mistaken. I did not say you were wrong?”  Her eyes were darker and looked at Elsa challenging.  Elsa took a casual seat on Gina’s workbench.  “Please continue?”  She said very much like the Queen of Ardendale.  It made Gina smiled a bit.

“I would first like to know why the ring had upset you in the first place.  Is it because it is expensive or because you think it is more than a dating ring?”

“I would say a little of both.”

“But if I got Jaden the exact same ring in silver with zirconias, you would not be here this morning?”  Elsa thought about it.  No, she would not be here.  Gina handed her the valuation certificate for the ring together with the cash slip.  Elsa's eyes went wild, her mouth open. 

“Gina, this is exactly my point.”

“I get it because it is expensive, you think it means more than a mere dating ring, or that I expect more from Jaden…”  She let the thought flow, and Elsa realized, that was the issue. That was the part that made her angry.  Her patient was analyzing her again.  She was not ready to admit that yet.  Jaden came to stand before her, looking at her. 

“Doc, I am crazy, in love with your daughter if you have not noticed it yet?  Yes, I am not a virgin, yes I have more sexual experience than you and my mothers put together.  Yes, I am damaged and broken, and yes, I am going to be Jaden’s first and I am going to marry that girl. But like I said before, only if this is what she wants.  The world is a big place Doc and Jaden have only tasted a bit of it.”

 

Elsa nodded, not entirely happy.  “The point is Doctor Frost, that if that were a silver ring with zirconia’s, costing less than a hundred dollars, Jaden would still look at me the way she is looking, her eyes will still light up every time she looks at the ring and  _that_  Doc is the point.”

“Your mothers are giving you too much pocket money.”  Gina laughed, “Surely Doc, you know both my mothers better than that!”  She opened her drawer next to her bed and took out a bank statement.  “In the greater scheme of things, I bought your daughter a cheap ring.”  If Elsa was speechless about the value of the ring, it did not even remotely compare with her reaction to Gina’s bottom line. “How…?”

“I had a good lawyer, and that is more or less what the State of Massachusetts assumed a gang rape of a minor was worth.”  The words came out very bitter, and Elsa became aware that Gina most likely did not give a shit about the money, that even with a bank account like that, she would be a woman that would still work and she would ride the Vulcan until it fell apart.  Gina fiddled with something again and brought out a square flat box. 

“Got you something as well Doc, just in case all this was out of jealousy.”  She smiled at the look on Elsa’s face.  She went out to the balcony to have a cigarette, leaving the older woman to comprehend the gift on her own.  Gina was almost finished smoking when Elsa joined her. 

“Thank you, and it is stunning and thoughtful.”  Unlike the other gifts, this one was a plain gold bracelet with a Celtic knot for strength and health engraved in it.  Elsa always had three similar bangles on her left arm, this one fitted in perfectly.  “Is this a bribe?”  Gina gave a healthy deep, careless laugh.  “Indeed.  What is Jaden wearing tonight?”

 

Jaden was kind of nervous.  Emma and Regina have been asking a lot of questions, what felt mostly like sex advice.  After a while, they realized that she definitely knew less than what they did.  They asked her about the dance, and she shyly told them about her dress.  She was utterly relieved when her mother and Gina entered the kitchen.  Elsa smiled at her. 

“Ready to go?  You have a hair appointment in half an hour.”  She looked at the ring on her finger and then at her mom.  Elsa smiled. 

“It looks beautiful Honey.  And I am happy for you both, dating.”  She emphasized the dating almost as much as what Regina did earlier.  Then she realized Gina was right. It had nothing to do with the ring, because of the look and smiled her baby gave her was priceless.  Jaden flung her arms around her mother’s neck and kissed her repeatedly. “Thank you, Mamma!”  She looked to Gina, and they shared a moment of happiness.

“I will see you tonight?  Can I pick you up at seven?”  Jaden looked at her coyly, “Thank you, Miss Snow, don’t be late?”  Gina grinned back.

 

The moment the Frosts were out of the door she turned to Regina with a look of desperation.  “Don’t worry dear; we will have you ready by then.”  She got a half smile from Gina.  “Okay,” she said as she set off to her room.

 

When she got to her room, she called Henry.  “Hey Shining, I need something at the boathouse, can I come over?”

“It’s your house.”  He answered annoyed. Gina rolled her eyes at the tone of his voice.

“I will be there in ten minutes.”  She killed the call.  She had a tightness in her stomach she could not explain.  She shrugged it off as excitement.

 

“Where is Rapz?”  She asked Henry as she walked in and kissed him.

“You mean Princess Rapunzel from the Kingdom of Corona?”  She could hear the bitterness in his voice.  “Henry, I did not pick her, this is not my fault, and I only found out who she is by accident.”

“Why did you give me the water, what are you planning?”  Gina sighed and took a seat in the lounge.  She looked at him with serious eyes.  He joined her. 

“I am not planning anything, yes I have a plan, for just in case and I guess, since I found out who Rapz really is, I have been doing things like that. Making backup plans for people.”  Her eyes welled up with tears. 

“My Spidey sense is tingling.”  He understood.  He got up and pulled her up into a hug. 

“Do you know, or do you just feel?”  She pulled back a bit to look into his eyes. 

“Henry, I have only been in complete control of my power for more or less six months.  There is a lot I do not know. The premonitions are irregular and befuddled.  The feelings I get, gods, I do not know if it is because I am in love or because something is going to happen.”

“You are in love?”

“Yes, Henry.”  She said cold.  “And I will not be the first Dark One to be in love or fall in love or love.  That is part of the curse of being the Dark One. It tries to snuff out that light too.” He breathed heavy.  Most days he tried not to think about the weight she carried, only how to get rid of it.

“You need three tears, not two.”  It was a statement, not a question. 

“Two tears, three tears, blood, white magic.  I have tried it all, and nothing is strong enough.”

“You tried three tears?  When, how?”  He thought she was hiding it from him. 

 

“A few weeks back I had an incident, our moms and I sat here and cried.  I collected the tears.  Nothing.”

“You really do want to break the curse?”  She looked away from him, the last thing he needed was to see what she felt. 

“Emma is getting hurt by our connection and for the first time in a long time, our mothers are happy, I want to keep it that way.”

“What about you, what will you do when we go back to Misthaven?”  Gina had no intention of telling him the truth.  “I really do not know.”

“What do you need here?” 

“Potion.”  She answered him crudely.  “How much power do you have?”

“Without a potion, or a spell?”  He nodded. “I do not know.  In case you have forgotten, all magic comes with a price.  I have been very careful not to use dark magic.  As you well know, I have white magic, and I have been using that with the potions.  The bracelet is just a channel because it is live magic.”  Henry auditable sighed with relieve.  Then he felt guilty.  He should have trusted her. She might have been young, but his mother taught her everything there is to know about magic, he should have known that she would be careful. 

“I am sorry I doubted you.”  His sister shrugged her shoulders.  “Now if you don’t mind, I need to get ready for a date.”  She got up and closed the door behind her.  She stood against it for a moment, composing herself before she opened the safe.  She sealed it a few days before with the magic fire spell again.

 

With the safe open, she took out the puzzle box and opened it.  The feeling of anticipation was back.  She needed to take precautions.  Gina took out the blue vial and dabbed her finger with the potion and preceded to dab every scar she had.  The bad infection wound on her shoulder healed as if she never had an infection there.  She did the same with all the stab wounds and the slash Neal gave her.  Lastly, she took off her pants and placed a drop on her left thigh.  She had to bite back the pain a bit as the fresh cut marks there started to heal.  She had to even her breathing.  The pain from the cuts not only kept her awake, but they also made her feel, it was easier to control the prowling Darkness that way.  She looked at her leg where the fresh cuts were.  It healed, but there was light scarring.  It stood out against the tan she had from sitting on the balcony so much.  She swallowed.

 

Gina continued with the potions.  There were certain things that a lesbian like her, just tried once.  Waxing was one of those things.  She felt that hot wax hair removal kits should come with a warning label that said:  **This is not a DIY project for Lesbians**.  Besides getting wax in places that she did not intend to get wax on or into, she nearly mutilated herself when she took off a cast like mess of wax off her leg.  She vowed to herself never to do that again.  So today, magic was used to wax everything that needed to be trimmed.  Then she coated her fingers and toes with a slightly darker shade than her burgundy jacket and added the same snowflake design Jaden had on her nails.  Gina was sure, that other than a professional manicure and pedicure, this would be the only way she would ever get her nails and toes right.  Besides, there was no way; any person was going to give her a bikini wax. She covered the tattoos on her arms next.  The spells were still there; you just could not see them on the muscular, tanned arms.

For precaution, she added a few drops of the quicksilver potion on both her hands and the bracelet before she sealed the safe. She rubbed over her left thigh, before she left the room.  She wished that the strange feeling of anxiety would leave her.


	32. Like I’m gonna lose you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone, if you like hugs and puppies, stories, then stop reading at Chapter 31  
> Next few chapters will be heavy on the emotions. Any warning I have not put forth, they apply from here on.  
> Try not to cry too much?

**Chapter 32**

 

Regina stood back and looked at her girl.  She was stunning.  Regina applied very little makeup, and the normal ponytail hairdo replaced with a layered lose style that was perfectly blow waved.  Her natural beauty only emphasized.  Regina wondered for a moment if they did things like this, before now.

“Did I ever dress you up?”  Gina turned to her and Regina was struck with the likeness she had to Emma.  “Yes, in the beginning.  You had dresses made for me, and I wanted to be just like you.”

“And then we stopped doing it?  Why?”  Gina gave her a half smile at the memory. 

“I discovered that it was awfully difficult to slay ogres with a dress on.  We tried the femme fatal for a while, leather pants with boots and pintail corsets.  That was the kind of thing you would wear when you were fighting. Did not last too long, so I started dressing like my brother and father.  It was much more me,  more comfortable.”

Regina wondered about something different.  “Elsa and Jaden, were they friends of ours?”

 

Gina took a moment to think how to answer.  “They are from another Kingdom, it was a bit of travel to get there, so we did not see them often, but yes, they were friends.”

She could see that Regina had more questions.  “Mom, I am going to get dress now.  I loaded some music into Granny’s jukebox.  They are using it tonight for the dance.  There is a song for you and Emma, I will tell you in advance, so you can ask her to dance.”

Regina gave her a full smile.  “Thank you, dear.”

“And may I please borrow your car to pick up Jaden?”

“Sure.”  She held out her hand and Gina took it, being pulled into a hug, she let Regina hold her for a bit.  _Her first official dance and her mom was there for her_.  She never thought that something like this would ever happen.  Being a princess, if only for one night.  She let go of Regina, kissed her on the cheek and walked back to her own room. 

 

Emma and Regina waited for Gina at the bottom of the staircase.  Regina was taking photos with her phone.  Gina rolled her eyes but smiled at her mother.  She looked fabulous and very grown up.  Emma raised an eyebrow if either of them was surprised that Gina could actually walk like a lady, especially in the high heel, ankle gladiator sandals, they did not let on. Her bare tanned legs were smooth and amazing looking under the black leather mini skirt.  The high collar burgundy jacket met the seam of the skirt to the millimeter, the sleeves of the jacket ended in a bell-shaped cuff that covered a part of her hand. She had a white V-shaped tank top vest on underneath the jacket.  It fitted perfectly, hugging the slim body and showing only a slight curve of her breasts.  Emma thought that she was glad that she would be on duty and have her gun with her, she had a feeling that her daughter was going to cause trouble with the way she looked.

 

She took Gina’s hand when she got to the bottom of the stairs and turned her around.  Gina smiled shyly. She was taller than Emma in the heels.  Emma noticed she had a new tattoo, the same snowflake design that was painted on the nails of her big toes, her thumbs and ring fingers.  “New tattoo?  I thought we spoke about new tattoos?”  She tried her utmost to sound stern.  “It’s is a wash off Mom.”  Emma kissed her on the cheek.  “You look great Gina.  You are going to break a lot of hearts tonight.”

“Thank you.”  Her eyes went from Emma’s to Regina.  Even though she had seen the outfit, with the makeup and blow-waved hair, she looked different.  The color combination brought out the green in her eyes, it highlighted the beautiful silver hair.  Regina had the glistering of tears in her eyes. She smiled a proud smile that was so deep; it showed her dimples. Gina smiled back, hoping that she conveyed the same love she saw in the dark eyes.  She kissed both woman goodbye before she left the house to go and pick up Jaden, she had a single deep red rose with her.

 

Jaden was nervous.  She knew she looked good, but this was her first dance, her and Gina’s first date.  Her mother watched her closely just before seven.  She was also dressed, ready to go in a black cocktail dress.  The doorbell rung and Elsa smiled at her daughter. Jaden disappeared to the kitchen as Elsa opened the door.  Whatever she expected, it was not the beautiful girl in front of her. She looked at Gina with no idea what to say.  She has seen Gina in her red and white Terrier hockey jersey and thought red suited her, but the overall look of this girl in the red jacket took her completely by surprise.

 

She gave Gina an inquisitive stare.  “You do clean up very nicely Miss Snow.”  To her further astonishment, Gina blushed at the compliment.

“Thank you, Doctor Frost. You look very elegant as well.” Elsa smiled at the compliment.  Gina leaned in a bit. 

“Do I look alright to take out Jaden tonight?”  The uncertainty was so unlike Gina.  “You look beautiful Gina, and you are going to make a breathtaking couple.”  Gina looked a little relieved.  She stepped inside when Elsa indicated for her to do so, as she stepped into the house, Jaden came out of the kitchen. Gina froze stiff when her eyes landed on Jaden.  Jaden had the kind of beauty that even in rags, she would make heads turn, but here she stood in an amazing dress and Gina completely forgot to breathe.

 

Jaden had a glamorous white jersey gown on, with midriff cutouts, a side slit to the middle of her thigh, and a crisscross sash to the front and back, connecting the midriff cutouts. The back was open from the crisscross sash to the halter top finish.  Her nails painted in the same color as Gina’s with the snowflake designs in the same places.  To finish off the look she had a burgundy chiffon scarf draped over her open shoulders, her silver-colored sandals an inch higher than Gina’s.

 

Gina could not get a word out, she just stared. From the stunning leg displayed through the slit to the open midriff, revealing a bellybutton ring with a silver snowflake charm to her bright blue eyes. Gina, instantly aroused.  The young woman before her was exquisite.  _How do you compliment perfection_  Gina wondered?

“You look…” The words got lost.  Jaden blushed a bit. 

“Thank you, so do you.”  Gina handed her the single rose.  She had the other eleven delivered earlier in the day.  Jaden smiled and took the long stem rose from her, she smelled it and gave it to her mother with the request to place it in the vase in her room with the others.  Gina held out her arm and Jaden took it.  “Have fun girls,” Elsa called after them, they hardly heard her.  They were only aware of each other.

 

Their entrance at the town hall caused a stir.  They were striking as individuals, but as a couple, there were no others that could even compare.  Even her mothers.  Emma was dressed in a black ladies pantsuit, while Regina had a beautiful short cocktail dress on.  Gina smiled at them; they did look good together.  The young couple joined Neal and his date, both girls kissed Neal on the cheek and got an, _if looks could kill_  stare from the girl, who all of a sudden felt more possessive over Neal.  Henry and Rapz joined them; Henry also got a kiss from Gina.  Jaden was still shy around him, so he kissed her gently on the cheek and told her how beautiful she looked.

 

The Mayor officially opened the weekend festivities, and the dance with a short speech after which the music started and almost every couple took to the floor.  Gina and Jaden danced a few songs when Gina saw Henry load his song into the jukebox.  Gina excused herself and loaded four songs after him.  She strolled to Regina and whispered something in her ear.  The dark woman smiled and nodded.

 

When  _Only you_  started to play, Neal rolled his eyes and asked Gina how many girls Henry was going to charm with that song.  She smiled back at him.  “He thinks that because it worked for his father, it will work for him.”  Neal shook his head, and just to piss his nephew off, he took his date and joined the other couple on the floor.  Gina whispered into Jaden’s ear, and her eyes went wide, but her smile said that she was very, pleased.

After Yazoo, Gina pulled off her jacket and made quite a few people stare at her.  The tank top vest she had on had an open back but for the lace, patchwork running over the shoulders and down her spine. The lace patchwork was different patterns of snowflakes, the black dragon glaring between the lace.  The blessing on her lower back covered by the bottom of the top.  Without the jacket, she looked hot and very sexy.

 

The next song started to play, and the few people that thought they could dance to the fast rhythm of Ricky Martin’s  _Livin’ da Vida Loca_  made their way off the dance floor as Gina started to move her body to the music and led Jaden into a perfect synchronized salsa. The way they moved together was perfect, their toned abdomens and buttocks moving with the beat as Gina swung Jaden into her arms, taking the perfect steps together on their toes, their caves taunt and then Jaden twirled out again.  Gina’s eyes never wavering from Jaden’s body. On every turn, the slit in Jaden’s gown opened in a flare, exposing her beautiful leg.  She approached the girls on the rhythm, only for Jaden to make the same move backwards, their eyes smoldering on each other.

 

“I think that should either be banned or R rated,” Elsa said to Regina as they watched the couple closely.  “I did not know Gina could dance like that,” Regina answered, she wanted to look at Elsa, but she could not tear her eyes away from the stunning couple.

As the song ended, and Gina pulled her partner close to her, a few wolf whistles and claps met them.  Jaden was ready to walk off, but Gina held her tight.  “The next song is just for you.”  Gina whispered to her as Savage Garden’  _I knew I loved you_ , started to play.  The words of the chorus brought tears to Jaden’s eyes.  The song was slow,  Gina led her gently in the dance.  The entire song spoke to Jaden, and she held on tight.

 

They stayed in each other’s arms as Jasmine Thompson’s sweet voice came through the jukebox, singing  _Like I’m gonna lose you._   The two were doing a slow dance, as many other couples joined them.  Henry and Rapz included.  Holding tight, Gina felt the words stir her, she could not remember why she picked this song.  As it ended, she saw Regina making her way on the dance floor with Emma as Belinda Carlisle’s  _Heaven is a place on Earth_  started to play.  Regina smiled at her daughter; it was the perfect song for her and Emma.

 

Gina led Jaden to get some soda and some fresh air.  Jaden’s eyes were bright as she looked at Gina. “That was incredible!  Where did you learn to dance like that?”

Gina laughed.  “My uncles. They always said Irish songs is the way to go if you wanted to get drunk, but if you wanted to impress a woman, do the Tango. So they taught me to Tango, Salsa, Mambo, basically shake my ass on Spanish and Latin American music.”

Jaden laughed, Gina nearly never spoke of her past.  She knew about the uncles because she asked Gina where she learned to ride a motorbike, to draw, her taste in music, it felt like most questions ended with the answer, _my uncles_.

“Miss Snow, I am having an amazing time, thank you.”  She kissed Gina on the lips and placed something in her hand.  Gina opened her palm and looked at it. It was a black and silver Titanium ring with the infinity symbol on it.  Jaden was nervous; it was a simple band, nothing like what she was wearing. Gina looked up, there were tears in her eyes, Jaden felt the relief washing over her.  She took the ring from Gina and placed it on her left hand’s ring finger since she already had a ring on her right hand.

“Does this mean I belong to you, Miss Frost?”

“Oh yes!”  Jaden answered assertively.

 

The remainder of the night was like a dream floating by.  Gina danced with Neal and Henry and in between with Jaden, when she asked Regina to dance with her.  Regina gave her a charming smile, and the two set off.  To many persons surprise, the contrast of Gina’s silver hair with Regina’s dark hair and dress made them look spectacular.  Gina felt a kind of pride as she led her mother around the floor.  She kissed Regina when the song ended and led her back to where Emma stood. She held her hand out to Emma.  “Really?”  Emma asked, Gina smiled.  “I will even let you lead,” Gina answered with a sparkle in her eyes.  They fell into step far easier than what Emma thought like they have done it before.  “Thanks, mom,” Gina said to Emma as the song ended.  She danced with Neal, to the annoyance of his date, then she asked Doctor Frost.

 

As she and Elsa glided gracefully over the dance floor, Elsa spoke to her over the music.

“Looks like you are now my daughter in law?”  Gina gave her a bright smile. 

“It is stunning, isn’t it?”

“Very you,” Elsa answered. Her taste in jewelry not even close to what Gina considered stunning.  “If this is the way you two are going can you please start to call me Elsa?”

Gina thought about it.  “Doctor Elsa?”

“Fine, I will compromise.” It felt so strange to Elsa that in the last few days, she got to know Gina better than in all their sessions.

 

The night lingered on; the music got louder and faster as most of the people still dancing were all the young people.  Someone loaded Shakira’s  _Whenever, whenever_  with the request that Gina and Jaden danced again.  They did, the kind of belly dancing, Zumba, mambo mix like in the music video. It was fabulous.  They were so enthralled that neither of them noticed a particular pair of eyes on them.  After the song, a very high Gregor walked over to Jaden and took her by the arm.  His grip was strong, Jaden let out a small cry.  Gina, Henry, and Neal were on him in an instant. 

“What’s the problem, is she too good for me to dance with?”

“If you touch her again, I will break your arm in so many places, that no one will be able to put it back together again.”  Jaden saw the anger radiating off Gina.

Gregor shook Gina’s grip off. 

“Hey Frost, do you even know what goes on in the Mayor’s house.  Walked past there the other night.  The Sheriff was having an orgasm, screaming out her so-called adopted daughter’s name!”  The shock of his words and the menacing intent burned through all of them, but it was Henry that threw the first punch. Neither Emma nor David had time to respond to the fight as Gregor got up from the floor, a revolver in his hand.  Gina just had time to push Henry and Neal out of the way as the first shot went off.  Everyone looked for shelter, including Jaden, she looked on in horror as she saw Gina push her Brothers out of the way and taking a shot somewhere.  It happened so fast.

 

Gina reached into the band of her mini skirt with the left forefinger.  Small and deadly she thought as her hand closed over the Karambit. Emma and David had their pistols out and pointing into the direction of the only two standing people.  Gina was in their sights, but both knew she was not armed with a gun.  They moved and tried to aim at Gregor.  Even on her heels, she moved with lightning speed.  Gregor moved to take another shot at the bitch when Emma looked.  From her angle, it looked like Gina shoved the gun arm up in order for the shot to go astray. Gina came in with her left hand in a fist, Emma thought she was going to punch Gregor in the chest, but to her horror, she saw Gina drag her fist down, followed by Gregor screaming and a blood trail over the boy's chest, from his right ribcage to his left clavicle.  As he bent forward to hold his chest, Gina dropped to her left knee, Gregor hanging over her, she sliced the back of his right knee open, not only cutting off all the tendons there but immobilizing him completely.  Emma and David got into position as the horror played off in front of them.  She should have known that her daughter would be armed, with what she was armed, Emma could not imagine, but it was clear that even with the revolver shots going off around her, Gina was winning the fight.  Gregor dropped on his left knee as Gina moved up and out of the way.  Her left hand reached up, and Emma could see from the angle, that the only place where Gina would strike was Gregor’s throat.  She could already see him ripped open around the neck the same as his chest.  As Gina moved her fist down, Emma breathed in, closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.


	33. Feat of Clay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the long wait is over! Once season 7 starting tomorrow. Really hope it was worth the wait.  
> For now, another chapter for you. Thank you for all the comment and support.  
> One warning that I have not used yet - sorry character death.

**Chapter 33**

 

Jaden looked on in terror as Gregor fell forward, clutching the wound in his chest as Gina fell backwards.  There was blood everywhere.  Jaden got up and reached for Gina; she was lying so still.  Neal tried to pull her back, but she was too fast for him.  She landed next to Gina, she was shaking so much, completely unaware of the tears streaming down her face.  Jaden placed her shaking fingers over the wound in Gina’s chest to try and stop the bleeding.  Gina’s beautiful white top was already soaked crimson.  “Mom!” Jaden’s terrorized cry for help seemed to shake everyone in motion.  Her eyes were searching for her mother when they fell on Emma, still in position, still paralyzed.  Emma saw utter hatred in the young blue eyes before they searched for her mother.

 

Elsa just appeared, she moved Jaden out of the way, so that she could apply pressure to the wound.  Gina’s eyes opened, Jaden started to cry even more.   _She was going to be alright_ , she told herself.  Regina was at Gina’s side.  She grabbed her right hand, chanting over and over that everything would be alright.  Henry and Neal took off their ties to hand to Elsa, together with their jackets.  In all desperation, Elsa tried to stop the bleeding.  The shot was through and through, but Gina coughed a bit, and Elsa’s worst scenario came true.  She coughed up a bit of blood. 

“David we need to get her to surgery now!”  She yelled to the Deputy.  Emma was still frozen on the spot.  David took her weapon from her and Mary Margaret took her to a seat, but when Elsa yelled to David, she got up and ran over to Gina.

 

The moment she landed next to Regina, Jaden slapped her through the face. Elsa knew they were all running on adrenaline now.  Jaden’s handprint was a red stain on Emma’s very pale face.  Neal got hold of Jaden,  she stood, crying in his arms.  Emma was shaking, and Regina held her with her other arm.  Rapz had a look of horror on her face, and for the first time since she made her choice, she regretted it.

 

Archie took a look at Gregor.  His cuts were deep.  Archie assessed that he would never walk without a limp again as for his torso, Archie was sure besides the cut, that Gina actually managed to break a rib badly.  He looked around to see what weapon Gina used when his eyes fell on the small Karambit.  The hold, the size of Gina’s hand with a blade that perhaps was an inch long.  His mind could not comprehend that the small blade could cause so much damage.

 

“Gina, Gina?”  Her eyes came to focus on Elsa. “Doc,” Gina said.  Her voice sounded stronger to herself than what it was. “Where is Jaden?”  If the question surprised any of the onlookers, no one indicated it. 

“She is safe, she is with Neal,” Regina answered through her tears.  Gina frowned at the crying woman, and she noticed Emma’s withdrawn sheet white face.  Her mind slowly replaying the events.  Emma shot her. She wanted to laugh, but she only coughed up more blood.  They could all hear the sirens of the ambulance in the distance.  Elsa just hoped they would be in time.  Regina kissed the hand she was holding, Gina felt her tears dripping on her hand.  She moved her hand and captured Regina’s tears.  Gina gave her mother a small, sad smile as she felt the power she absorbed. At least now she knew why her Spidey senses were going haywire. She reached for Emma, when the green eyes landed on her, Emma started to cry uncontrollably.  Gina wiped her face and said with a lot of strain. 

“It is alright Mom.”  Emma’s head jerked up.  She looked at Gina as if she saw her for the first time. 

“Take care of each other, no matter what happens, take care of each other?”  The two women held each other now, promising Gina. 

Her eyes searched for Henry as her hand came up and she wiped a tear off her own face. She closed her eyes for a moment, only to hear Elsa calling her and telling her to hold on a little longer, that the ambulance was almost here.  She looked at Henry, he was holding Rapz, they were both crying.  She smiled at him and with all her strength told him; “It’s time.”  The words stunned him, he looked from his sister to his mothers and back to Rapz, he grabbed his girl and took her outside.  Neal heard the words too.  He could not believe it.  “Jaden?”  She looked up to him. 

“Jay, Gina needs you.”

 

Gina was relieved when her girl was by her side again.  As much as her shoulder hurt, she lifted up her hand and Jaden took it.  Gina held her hand as tight as she could.  She smiled up at the blue eyes, trying to convey to Jaden all that she felt.  “I love you.” Jaden just started to cry more; she hit Gina with a fist on her thigh.  “No, don’t you tell me that!  You are only saying it because you think you are dying.  You tell me that when you hold me in your arms again.”  Elsa got up when the ambulance arrived, yelling instructions as the men with the gurney came closer.

 

Her eyes fell on her mothers.  “Take care of her please?”  They both nodded through their tears.  Gina closed her eyes with a smile and exhaled her last breath.  Jaden screamed at the top of her lungs, her  _no!_  echoing through the silent hall.  Elsa’s head turned to her daughter.  They were too late.  She ran to Jaden and picked her up and move her away from the body.  She placed Jaden in the arms of Mary Margaret and Neal.  Archie was already calling for her to take a look at Gregor.  She called the medics and Gregor were loaded onto the gurney and into the ambulance, instead of the beautiful girl she danced with a few hours before.  She looked at her watch, 23:46.  She called it.  She wanted to stay with her daughter, but she needed to get to the hospital with Gina.  She knew Whale would do the surgery on Gregor.

 

Emma was crying hysterically in Regina's arms and repeating over and over,

“I killed my baby girl.”  When Henry returned with Rapz and saw what had happened, he stood frozen in the door. He looked at the place where Gina was laying, a white sheet covering her.  The blood-stained sheet. He shook his head as if it was unreal.  She just told him that it was time.  They would go back to Misthaven, and everything would be alright.  He just told Rapunzel he was the Author and that they were going back to the Realm of magic and if she did not want to go, he needed to get her over the town line, before Gina could reenact the curse.

 

David was organizing everyone, moving everyone away from the body.  Emma and Jaden were the hardest to pull away,  when they did, Jaden went for Emma again.  She slammed her fists into the Sheriff’s chest until she had no more and Emma closed her in an embrace, the two women full of blood, crying in each other’s arms over their tremendous loss.  Henry did not know if he should be angry, sad or numb.  His mother killed his baby sister.  The Dark One was dead. The Dark One died in the Non-magical Realm.  His mind refused to accept the truth that was before his eyes. They were stuck in this place.  They were so close.

 

One by one everyone except for David left.  He stayed behind, even after Gina’s body was removed to process the scene.  Elsa already called him, to let him know that Gregor’s shot only graced Gina’s arm, it was Emma’s shot that nicked the young girl's lung, and that was the cause of death.  David knew there would be an inquiry. Emma did her job; she disarmed an assailant from killing someone.  He knew there would be no problems with the inquiry, but the wrong attacker died.  Gina was defending her brothers and her girlfriend.  Yes, his mind told him that if Emma did not take the shot, Gregor would be dead and Gina would be in custody for murder, but she would be alive.

**********

Everyone went to the mansion.  Regina had no idea what to do or how she felt.  She just poured everyone a stiff drink and handed it out, including Neal and Jaden.  Even Mary Margaret drank her glass in one shot.  Regina left the bottle on the coffee table in the lounge and watched as a few people filled their glasses for another drink.  Emma was sitting quietly in a corner.  Even Regina could not give her comfort at the time. She had her own pain to carry, her own loss and sorrow to deal with.  The room was mostly silent.  Now and then someone would sniff or cry harder than what they did a moment before. 

When Elsa came in, she took Jaden into her arms and held her for a very long time. After she let go of her crying daughter, she looked around taking in everything including Jaden, her beautiful gown stained red.   _How did an evening so perfect, turn into everyone’s scariest nightmare_? She wondered.  From the moment she walked in, Emma and Regina’s eyes were on her.  She knew what they wanted to hear.  She walked up to Emma, crouched next to her and spoke to her for a bit, Regina was close enough to hear what was said.  Emma burst into heart-wrenching sobs again.  Elsa did not even try to console Emma or Regina. She just told Emma it was her bullet that killed their daughter.  There was no coming back from that.  Not for the Sheriff and she honestly doubted their relationship would survive it.

 

She took one of the drinks offered to her.  Even as a doctor, this was a personal matter.  She called Gina her daughter in law only a few hours earlier.  Her cell phone rung and it sounded so much harder in the quiet room than what it would normally sound like.  She answered, nodded a few times and then switched the phone off.  She drank most of her drink in one swallow before she spoke, to no one in particular.  “Gregor made it through surgery; he is going to live.”  She felt the bitterness boiling in her throat as her daughter flung herself into her mother’s arms, the crying started all over again.

 

Regina was standing by one of the windows, hugging herself, silent tears flowing freely.  Her emotions were so in conflict.  She wanted to hold Emma, but she also wanted to hurt her, the way Jaden took out her anger earlier.  She wanted to check on her son, but she also wanted to fall in a heap and fall apart.  Regina looked up to the sky for a moment. The sun was just coming up.  “What the hell is that?”  

Everyone turned to look at her and then to the direction she was looking in.  Henry came to stand next to her. His eyes were as red with crying as hers.  He looked, wiped his eyes and all of a sudden he clenched his jaw.  “Neal?”  He called loudly, startling everyone.  Neal came to stand by him and looked out of the window.  The two young men looked at each other; then their minds started working. "Son of a bitch!" Neal was pacing, after a while, he stopped and slapped his forehead. 

 

“Feat of Clay Part II,” Neal yelled out when his mind got the answer. “Yeah,” Henry confirmed.  “She pulled a Clayface on us.  I am going to fucking kill her for scaring us like this!”

“What are the two of you talking about?”  Regina asked annoyed. 

Neal answered first.  “Feat of Clay Part II, Season one, episode five. Matt Hagan becomes the shapeshifting monster, Clayface, at the end he gets electrocuted and dies, but when Batman tests a part of the clay with electric voltage, nothing happens.  He realized too late that Clayface faked his own death and only left a shell behind.”

 

Everyone was frowning at him; the story seemed so out of context.  Henry was heading for the door with Neal on his heels.  “What does that mean?”  Regina asked.  Henry looked at her. 

“Gina faked her death to get a head start on us, and she is casting the spell to take us back to Misthaven, that,” he pointed to the silver mist filling the sky. ”is Gina’s power.”

Emma got up. She only heard half of what was said.  “Gina is not dead?”  Henry looked back to the sky.  “No, she is not dead.”

 

 

**Six hours earlier.**

Gina did not know what shocked her more, that fact that she was shot or the fact that Emma shot her.  She just lay where she fell, her eyes closed, thinking.  _What was she going to do now_?  She felt Jaden’s fingers pressing on the wound.  She heard her scream for her mother, and a moment later, she felt Elsa’s stronger fingers take over from Jaden.  She opened her eyes, to look at Jaden.  Her heart nearly broke when she saw the blood stains on the beautiful white gown.  She tried to smile. Regina was there.  She tried to speak, but she coughed. She heard Elsa say something, but she could not understand the words, her eyes closed for a moment again.  Then Emma was there, and Jaden slapped her. Regina was crying. 

 

She closed her eyes, trying to decide what she needed to do.  “Gina, Gina?”  Her eyes came to focus on Elsa. “Doc.”  She said, “Where is Jaden?” 

“She is safe, she is with Neal,” Regina said, crying more.  Gina frowned at the crying woman. She noticed Emma’s withdrawn white face.  Her mind slowly replaying the events.  Emma shot her. She wanted to laugh, but she only coughed up more blood.  She could feel the wheezing in her chest.  She took a breath to assess her body.  Her left lung was punctured, but her shoulder hurt so much that all she could think was that the bullet must have deflected or fractured and hit somewhere further up her shoulder.

 

She felt Regina kiss her hand she was holding. A tear from Regina fell on her hand.  She moved to capture more of her mother’s tears.  She felt a surge of strength and power hit her. Of all the scenarios she thought up, to get this tear, being shot was not one of it.  At least she knew now that the omen she was feeling was real.  She gave her mother a small, sad smile. She reached for Emma, and when the green eyes landed on her, Emma started to cry uncontrollably.  Gina wiped her face and said with a lot of strain. 

“It is alright Mom.”  She watched Emma as her head jerked up.  She looked at Gina strangely. 

“Take care of each other, no matter what happens, take care of each other?” 

She noticed the impatience in Elsa.  _Was she dying_?  She knew she could heal herself at any moment, why was she dragging it out?  She looked for Henry as her hand came up and she wiped a tear from her own face. She had the tears she needed. She closed her eyes for a moment, only to hear Elsa calling her, telling her to hold on a little longer.  She opened her eyes again and looked at Henry; he was holding Rapz, they were both crying.  She smiled at him and with all her strength told him; “It’s time.”  The words stunned him, he looked from his sister to his mothers and back to Rapz and left. Neal pushed Jaden towards her.  Her mind was now clear, she had a plan, a fucked up plan, but it was a plan.

 

Relieved swept over her when Jaden was by her side again.  As much as her shoulder hurt, she needed to feel her girl.  Jaden took her hand, and she held on.  She smiled up at the blue eyes, trying to convey to Jaden all that she felt. 

“I love you.” Jaden just started to cry more. She hit Gina with a fist on her leg.  “No, don’t you tell me that!  You are only saying it because you think you are dying.  You tell me that when you hold me in your arms again.”  Elsa disappeared at that moment. Gina’s eyes fell on her mothers. 

“Take care of her please?”  They both nodded through their tears.  She closed her eyes with a smile and exhaled her last breath.

 

She felt really bad about what she was about to do, but she only had so many options.  She could have disappeared in a cloud of swirling silver mist, very dramatic and send the entire town into a panic.  She could heal herself and try and slip away later, but that would take too long.   _Door number three_ , she decided, and she exhaled.  It will give her a head start, she needed it, especially since Henry did not know what the price for this would be.  Someone threw a sheet over her, and that was when she disappeared in a haze of mist, leaving behind a shell.  She materialized by the town boundary line, now dressed in her boots and black leather pants, a white high collar blouse with bell-shaped sleeves, the burgundy jacket that she wore earlier that night.  She looked over the town; a sad little smile appeared on her lips. She swallowed hard.  She would cry later; she had a family to get to safety.

 

The power she felt from the three tears were far stronger than what she could have ever imagined.  No wonder they all came back here without knowledge of themselves, the tears of sorrow took all the painful memories. Gina did not know what would be worse. Remembering or living in this illusion.  Her illusion was so painful that when she saw Neal that first day and her memories came back, she was relieved.  Now, at the moment of sending her family back to their home, she was not too sure if Misthaven and all the memories there would be what Henry expected in the end.

 

Gina waved her right hand, and her plan was set in motion. The part of the plan she had in mind when she first tried her mothers’ tears to break the curse.  Emma’s SUV appeared next to her with a trailer.  Everything she held dear was now in the car and trailer, including her bike and workbench from the boathouse, most of her possessions, all her photos,  knives every single item that had meaning to her was packed. There were other items as well, half of Trina’s stock of Nuclear-Wasted.  She knew it was something she would need later.

 

She also took a personal item from the women she loved. And she left something with a few people, that hopefully, they would discover later.  She opened the front door of the car.  All the most important things laid there.  She took the puzzle box first, opened it and took out all the vials.  Gina drank all of the content left in the blue vial.  Her wounds and scars, healed instantly, permanently.  She took out the vial with the quicksilver and poured a drop on the ring on her ring finger, the ring attached to the bracelet.  She could feel the power of the bracelet transfer to the ring, the rune name appeared on the ring, and the bracelet had the names of Merlin and Emma on it.  With another wave of her hand, Excalibur with its stone appeared next to her.  “Try and find it now,” Gina said as she looked at the stone.  She could feel its temptation.  She quickly poured two drops on her right hand and drank the rest of the silver liquid.  She had to ground herself.  It has been twelve years since she used magic of this kind. 

 

She leaned into the car again and took out the vial with the clear liquid.  She looked at it.  The temptation was enormous.  It was the memory loss potion she used before she came to this Realm.  She poured the content over Excalibur.  The extra measure could not hurt. Muddle up the Dark One's captured there and their memories.  Gina took the red fire vail and the last one, a green vial.  She waved her hand. She and the stone appeared in the middle of the forest.  Gina looked down. Before her was a tree, about as tall as she was.  She waved her hand, a hole about twelve meters deep appeared under the tree.  Gina pressed the Dark One ring, and the infinity chain came loose.  She pressed on the bracelet, and it clipped off.  She used magic to open the puzzle box.  The Prometheus flame was staring back at her.  She placed the bracelet in the box and sealed it in with the fire.  

 

Gina’s plan was slowly emerging.  She ran her hand over the box, placed a drop of the orange-red liquid on it and then blew the magic fire symbol onto it, not all of it, but enough.  She further sealed the box in solid granite and dropped it in the hole under the small tree.  She picked another tree a few meters away and repeated the process.  Before she dropped the stone and sword into it, she broke the hilt of Excalibur off.  She blew the rest of the magic fire sign onto the stone before she dropped it into the hole.  

 

Gina looked for another tree. This one had a broken branch, she placed the hilt between the tree, and the broken branch then dropped some liquid on it.  Excalibur was now in four parts.  Anyone that might have the thought to assemble the Dark One Sword would need all four parts, and it was protected with fire magic.  She blew on the small Dragon tattoo on her arm, and the symbol appeared on the ground between the three trees.  Gina poured the last of the red vial’s content on the Dragon.  It flashed red and then returned to only a symbol on the ground.  She threw the green vial high into the air and blasted it with her silver magic.  The content of the vial sprayed over the trees and the underbrush. She turned to walk back to the Town line. 

 

With each step, the forest started to grow.  The small Oak tree where the bracelet was with the Prometheus fire grew fast and tall.  She could feel the roots of the tree enveloping the granite box, sealing it deep into the earth, the same was happening with the stone she took from the museum.  The branch on the third tree healed and the hilt of the sword became embedded between the stem of the tree and the branch.  It grew so big that the hilt could no longer be seen.  Everything around the trees also grew, it became a thick, impenetrable part of the forest.  If anyone ever managed to get to the trees, they would have to deal with the power of the Dragon that would protect the forest. If the three parts were discovered, it was still protected with the granite, fire magic and hopefully, the memory potion would muddle the dark souls that was captured within that their power would be completely useless.  Gina also knew that if that ever happened, the only fire that could be used to forge Excalibur again would burn out, melting the bracelet within the box.  She took one more precaution.  The tree with the hilt captured within it was on the other side of Storybrook’s border.  Two parts of the sword will be transported to Misthaven, and the other two would stay in the Realm with no magic.

 

She drove the car and trailer a distance over the borderline and walked back. Among the items that she took, was one of Regina’s best whiskey bottles.  She opened the twenty-five-year-old bottle and drank it as if it was soda.  She had to hold her emotions down. It was becoming harder with each hour passing.  Gina breathed deeply as the smooth liquid settled her.  She took the Dark One ring off and placed it over the Town line.  A few more breaths she pulled up her right hand as Regina taught her.  The ball of flaming energy in her hand was dark. She concentrated and pushed her sad emotions down until the energy became a silver mist.  The sun gleamed on the horizon. It was time.


	34. Part III Jaden - I love you Princess of Ardendale, I will always love you

**Chapter 34**

 

Gina breathed in. It was a special breath, with it, the tattoo in Chinses writing style on her upper left arm, disappeared together with the Gaelic warrior Spirit tattoo, and protection bind rune under it on her right arm. The tattoos have always been there to protect her from her own dark nature, but right now they were coming in handy to ensure that all the Realms would be safe, protected and blessed.

She took a moment to compose herself, before she moved both her hands, palms open and fingers spread slightly in front and next to her body. The silver energy flowed freely from her hands. She exhaled, the Chinese word Dragon, the Warrior Spirit and the protection rune spread over the sky of Storybrook, becoming part of the spell. Gina concentrated hard, the tears she collected from herself and her mothers became the essence of the spell. Lastly, she took her left hand for a moment to sweep the blessing and protection spell from her lower back into the mix, ensuring that the Realms she loved would once more return to be whole and protected. It would not be like the previous curses, whereupon return the castles, kingdoms, and safe havens were in tatters or broken. All of them would return to blessed lands. She closed her eyes, and a renewed burst of love and energy mixed all the spells and the silver clouds formed that would take her family back to their home. It was at that moment that she realized she needed more white magic. She stepped back and connected with Emma’s white magic that formed the barrier around all of Storybrook. The dome lit up, and for the first time in six hours, she had a smile on her face. It was working.

 

Two cars were speeding down the main road of Storybrook towards the town line. Gina had already sealed the barrier, no one was going anywhere, except for where they belonged. The spell was consuming everything at a rapid speed. It would not be long, she knew, all that she loved would be home. She pushed the sadness back. She could not allow for the sadness to have a place in any of the Realms.

 

The two cars stopped short of her. Everyone jumped out at once. Emma was the first to reach her. She ran towards her daughter to embrace her, her relief of seeing her alive, filled Emma with love and gratefulness. As she ran towards Gina, she felt a barrier between them. She looked at Gina as her hand made contact with the barrier.

 

“Why can’t I touch you?” Gina gave her a sad smile.

“The Realms are already splitting.” Jaden was standing next to Emma. She had no idea what it meant; she just knew Gina was not on their side.

“Then you have to come to this side. Now?” The blue eyes met with the green eyes. Gina was again expressing through her Soul, everything she felt for Jaden.

“I love you Princess of Ardendale I will always love you.” As realization set in, Jaden got a look of horror, followed by sadness and as she looked at the only love for her, she tried to reflect what she saw in Gina’s eyes. Henry was watching Emma and Jaden as their hands met with Gina, clearly through a barrier.

“What the hell is going on?” He rushed up to Gina and slammed his fist into the barrier.

“Gina, no! Don’t do this? There has to be another way.” He stood there not understanding. Gina smiled to Jaden, as a tear made its way down her cheek. When she turned to Emma, she whispered.

“If you ever wonder, I did forgive you, Emma, I did a long time ago.” Henry was slamming his fist to the shield again.

“Gina!”  Neither Emma nor Regina had ever seen him so upset.

“All magic comes with a price, Brother.” Regina was the only one that remained by the car, her heartbreaking for all of them. Her eyes, however, reflected love and pride. She did not even want to think how much strength it took from Gina to do this over and above the power she displayed. Gina looked at her mothers. Saying goodbye to them was devastating, but this silent farewell to Regina was, more than she could bare. She collected all the power and strength she could as she blasted the last of her magic into the cloud that was now upon her and as the silver mist engulfed those she loved most, she landed on her knees with an agonizing scream that carried with her family to Misthaven…

 

Gina brought them to an open field between the White Kingdom and the Dark Palace. Gina’s tormented scream still echoing in their heart as their memories returned in a gulf of flashbacks. They were back, dressed in the last tattered clothes and armor they had on the day Emma cast the curse. Jaden was sitting with her legs folded under her, holding herself crying so much that she was losing her breath, licking lips of fire blazing from her with each outlet of her pain. Her mother had her amazing ice dress on, and she waved her hand over her daughter, the fire was extinguished. Elsa had always wondered which one of her parent's powers she would have, and since everyone, thought her father was Jack Frost, everyone expected that if she had power, it would be ice. Only Elsa knew that there was a possibility for it to be fire. Now she knew.

 

Emma sat almost numb. Her mind running with the thought that she only got her back, just to lose her again. Regina was still standing apart from everyone. Her emotions were in cataclysm. She wanted to comfort Henry and Emma, and at the same time, she wanted to kill them. She knew that losing Gina would be devastating. She never thought it would be so soon. She believed that they would have time, more dances, more mother and daughter time and up until the moment her memories came crushing back she did not completely understand what she was losing. The pain was unbearable. For a change, Charming and Snow White did not gravitate to each other and stood stuck like two magnets. At that very point, Regina was sure that she would hurl a fireball at them. Snow did make her way over to Neal, and she had a short conversation with him before she looked at the rest of the group.

 

The authority of the Queen of the White Kingdom was back in her voice. “Who here knew what Gina’s plan was?” Regina rolled her eyes.

“Really Snow?” It did not sound even close to the way Emma and Gina said it, but Regina felt a load fell off her shoulders and all of a sudden she understood, why it was the question and answer to annoying things. Snow White looked at her angry.

“Why did no one consult me?”

“Ahm, hello nurse?” Regina used another of Gina’s things.

“Mary Margaret, Gina is the Dark One, she is trying to get us back home, with the help of her brother and uncle, which would be your son and your two grandchildren.” Her voice was all Evil Queen, short and dripping with sarcasm. Snow took up the challenge.

“Dark One or not, she is a princess of the White Kingdom! Who knew?”

“Only Emma and I, she told us a few weeks back.”

“And you did not think of preparing the town?”

“Oh for fuck sakes Snow, when are you going to learn! Not every fucking thing in life is about you and your Kingdom. Emma, Jaden and I have lost a person we love, twice in one day!” No one has ever heard Regina speak like that. Yes, she got angry and then she cursed you like a bug in the politest manner, always like a Queen and without using swear words. It left everyone shocked. Elsa looked at her, she understood. Looking down at her daughter and watching the pain rip through her, she understood. She knew that Jaden needed to feel her pain, suppress loss was worse than, the agonizing crying of her daughter. She joined Regina.

“She sacrificed everything, to bring us home, let’s not adulterate her sacrifice?” Snow gave her a scold.

“This is not your Kingdom!” Elsa looked at her in earnest.

“No it is not, none the less, she gave Ardendale back what it has lost. In  _my_  Kingdom, her sacrifice will be honored.” Elsa turned to Regina.

“Is there a way you can help us to get back?” Regina nodded. Emma nor Henry has said a word yet.

“Emma?” The pained green eyes looked up. She stood up, holding onto Henry.

“I am staying here, with my mother and father.” Regina gave her a cold stare. What would Gina think, knowing her family scattered, the moment they were back? Lines were drawn. They did not have a common enemy any longer that could unite them. Each Queen took a stand. Regina turned to Elsa.

“Let’s get you and the Princess home Queen Elsa.” She took Elsa’s hand. They walked over to Jaden, who was still hugging herself, crying. Regina touched the young girls back, and in a swirl of red smoke, the three of them disappeared.

 

Henry watched in horror as his mother disappeared without a word to him. For the first time, he looked around and found Rapunzel.

“Are you alright?” She nodded. A lot has happened in just a few hours.

“The Kingdom of Corona is a few days ride from here, if you wish to go home, I will come with you.” She smiled at him through her tears. She had done so much to get away from this place and her magic, and only a few years later, she was back, but yes, she wanted to go home. She nodded to him. Henry gave her a shy smile.

“We will go to the White Palace, for now, get stocked up and then I will take you home.” She held his hand, grateful for the offer. Snow White could not believe her ears.

“Henry! You cannot leave! We are family. We should stick together!” Henry looked at her with anger.

“In case you have not noticed my Queen, half of my family is not here.” He looked at Neal. It disgusted him that neither of Neal’s parents was at his side. They had their memories back. They should be all over him. Emma looked like a wreck. Neal stood by her, watching her. He was waiting for his sister to fall apart. Nothing that happened this day was to his liking or what was planned. Gina should have been at his side. The emptiness of her rapid departure left him spinning.

 

Henry looked to the South where the Dark Castle was and then to the North. For now, he would go North. “Neal?” His uncle nodded and took his sister’s hand. Emma was so numb that she just went along. The four made their way to the Castle. Snow looked at Charming, and for the first time, they walked into each other’s arms.

“It will be alright Snow.” She nodded against his chest. 

 

Almost a decade has passed, and before that, they were engaged in a six-year war with the Black Fairy, and even if Gina never saw the White Palace at the height of its glory, she somehow restored it to perfection. On their walk, Snow could see the lush green fields. Bluebirds came fluttering in as soon as they started their walk back, whistling to her reports of where all her friends were. The dwarfs were making their way back, except for Grumpy, he and Nova with their children were making their way towards Regina’s Castle. Blue reported in. She looked sad as she told Snow what was happening. Some bonds that were formed in Storybrook seemed to be stronger than their loyalty to Queen Snow White. There were a lot more people making their way to Regina’s side that those sticking with their Queen. After all, Regina has been their leader for ten years, not Snow.

 

Aurora and Frederik were making their way back to the Rose Palace, and Cinderella and Thomas were doing the same. Soon Henry would depart with Rapunzel to Corona. The White Kingdom was still the largest in all of Misthaven, but to Snow, it felt as if everything they had worked towards during the war on the Black Fairy, the friendships, the unification of the Kingdoms and Realms were all undone now. It was not about the power, as great as everything looked, Snow knew how dangerous this world could be and having her allies scattering all over troubled her.

 

She caught up with her son and daughter. She knew the pain Emma was in and for now, she left the woman alone, but she pulled Neal into her embrace. She kissed him until he felt embarrassed. “You were so brave my Prince.” She said as she held his face in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. He looked down.

“I failed.” Emma’s head shot up at that, and she turned to her mother and brother. Her voice was thick from crying.

“No Neal, never, you did not fail. You found her. You helped her. You brought the family back together. It was I who failed everyone. The Realms, the Kingdoms, my brother and my two children.” Her breath caught again. Snow and Neal pulled her in, from a distance, Charming watched them, before he walked over and embraced his family, all of his family for the first time in ten years.

Henry looked at them and held onto Rapz’s hand. He felt betrayed. Then he looked at the ground. No, they did not betray him, he betrayed them. All he wanted ever since Gina became the Dark One and his mother cast the curse was to get back here. He grew up in Storybrook, yet this was home to him and in all his selfishness, he never once thought what it would cost them. Gina and her Darkness, her struggle, was the last thing on his mind. _What was he thinking_? She remembered. She would have never brought the Darkness back to their home.

**********

 

Regina was not too surprised to find the Evil Queen in her reception hall. Neither was she surprised to find her fall down drunk with Mal. Her surprise was that almost half of Storybrook was there as well.

“What is this?” Her voice echoed in the hall, all the menace and emotion of the Queen she was. Trina raised a glass to her as an explanation, but to her amazement, it was Grumpy that spoke. “My Queen, there is no place for me and Nova or out children in the White Kingdom. We need your protection.” Happy was next to speak. “We need a way back; you are the only one strong enough to get us back.”

“Back?” Regina’s voice was thick with emotion and anger. “You want to go back you, insignificant dwarf? My child has just sacrificed everything she holds dear to get us home,  and you want to go back?” She stood in front of Happy with all the malice and contempt she could muster. Happy looked at Trina, for a moment he wondered if he was addressing the wrong Queen. He swallowed hard.

 

“Regina dear, you are scaring the little ogre, and he does have a point.” She turned around to Maleficent, the dress tails of her corset swinging with the movement. She flapped the coat out of the way and the next moment her eyes shimmered purple and two flaming balls were in her hands. “Must we do this, again?” Mal asked bored, nursing a much matured red wine. “Alas, we must!” Regina clenched out between her teeth. At that moment, Mal turned into a Dragon and to Regina’s amazement so did Lilith. The two Dragons were breathing their fire around them. Regina readied herself for the attack.

 

“Really?” The Evil Queen asked bored. The word extinguished everything Regina had. She fell to the floor and started to sob, unrestrained sorrow flooding from her entire body. Everyone, except for Trina and Mal left. They sat with her until the last sob raged through her body.

“Come, Regina, besides loving your terrifying self that you displayed earlier, I find that this,” Trina held out a glass of wine. “Will almost get you through anything.” The three of them sat at the large table at the end of the hall and proceeded to get wasted. Regina felt like she wanted to rip her heart out, to stop feeling like she did when she lost Emma and Henry so many years ago. However, the drinking did take her into oblivion, if only for a while.

**Storybrook the same time**

 

She looked at Regina, her mother. It was the only regret she had, that and the realization that she truly did love Jaden. But the two woman would be needed on the other side. Now more than ever. She felt the power emerging from her; there were tears in her eyes, she was crying for several reasons, one of which was a promise Merlin made to her a long time ago. She felt it; the power Merlin told her that she possessed. The Realms were splitting, for a moment she could see Misthaven, she looked at Regina, that was too much, the look of pride and sadness, with the last of her strength, she brought them home, while she could allow her own feelings to come to the surface for the first time. Her agonizing scream filled the air.

 

She fell to the ground, emotionally and physically exhausted. Gina lay there crying; it felt like her scream of torment carried on forever. In that instance when all her pain and anger accumulated into something she could no longer contain she burst with the agony. The effect, as devastating as it had been a decade before…


	35. There is a way to get back, isn’t there?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the continued support.  
> Some mention of self-mutilation - cutting, cursing as always.

**Chapter 35**

Pain: Highly unpleasant physical sensation caused by illness or injury.  What a fucking idiotic description! The bloody linguists should learn from the poets:  _Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.  The sun might shine, or the clouds might lour: but nothing could appear to me as it had done the day before_ , Mary Shelley. Now that was a good description, she thought.  Ripping the beating heart out of her chest, she looked at it.  She did not mean to, but a stray tear fell onto the heart in her hand.  She felt the difference immediately. She pushed her heart back. 

“What the fuck do I need to do?”  She cursed the Universe.  For her pain, her loss, her fucking shitty life, she had everything, for a while she had everything.

She stayed drunk for five days.  She finally found out what Fuck-Shock did and cursed her aunt for hours afterwards.  She drank the one bottle of Nuclear-Wasted after the other, until reality, dreams, nightmares all mixed into one.  She was looking for the oblivion not to feel anything, and it evaded her.

 

“Where were you the day the Black Fairy’s curse struck?”

“Fuck off Merlin; I am not in the mood.”  Her mind was somewhere, sleeping, awake, she could no longer tell, she no longer cared.  “Besides you stupid fuckhead! It was never about the day of the curse.  “ _Everyone always thought it was about that day_ _._ _That my power came from that day_!”  She was ranting and raving at the invisible man in the motel room she rented for a week. She threw a glass at him, except, there was no man, no glass, just her mind, that in a day became her greatest enemy. 

“Do you remember what Blue did?” Gina was breathing hard, hatred in her mind, anger in her Soul, and sorrow in her heart.  She was completely fucked up.  Her body was screaming to give up, give in.  She sliced another deep cut into her left thigh.  The tears came, she was relieved, five marks, five days, five times that she felt more than broken.

“You just healed that, before the dance.”  The familiar accent, the familiar man. “Serious Merlin, why the hell are you still in my head? You and Emma are buried, cursed, sealed and protected in the Enchanted Forest.”  She waved over her leg, and the five deep cuts disappeared.

“How long did Rumple try to do this?”  She laughed.  It was empty joyless. “What, five, six hundred years, more? To be the Dark One and have power beyond the dagger?” 

“It is not the Dark powers that did that.”  She sighed. 

“I am well aware.”

She was sobering up, the hole in her heart weighing down on her, her emotions running between anger and great sadness.  Normally the anger won out, today all she felt was the sadness. For all, she had, for all she lost. 

 

**Misthaven Present day**

Snow White looked out of the window at the tallest tower of her Castle.  All her lands before her, she could see the tip of the Dark Castle, she could see Rose Castle in the distance. She knew that Thomas’s lands lay north, and further north Corona.  Her family scattered all over the Enchanted Forest.  She stopped crying a few days ago.  Emma was still closed up in her room, not speaking to anyone.  Gina did what she did to give them all a chance, instead of being together, they were all lost in their own grief.  Snow felt a presence behind her. 

“What are you doing here?”  Snow’s voice was full of emotion.  The last person she expected was the woman now at her side. 

“How is Emma?”  Snow was surprised at the utter sadness she heard.  What was Regina to her now?  An enemy again?  A friend? 

“She is not doing well.  She is not eating. She is not sleeping.”  Regina came and stood next to Snow.  She wrapped her arms around herself.

“I do not believe that this was what Gina had in mind when she broke the curse.”  Snow turned to her.  “What do you want Regina?”

“Are we back to hostility again?”  Snow dropped her head. 

“Regina, my family has fallen apart and friends I thought would be by my side forever, is scattered, most of them with you.”  She turned to Regina. 

“And here you stand beside me, dressed all Evil Queen? What am I supposed to think Regina?”

“Evil Queen?  Gods Snow, this is the only comfortable thing I could find.  Besides, the Evil Queen is wearing the Evil Queen Garments and dresses.”  Snow raised an eyebrow.  “Trina is also with you?”  Regina nodded.  “And Zelena?” 

“We do not know where she is or if she has her magic back.”

 

Regina wiped an unwanted tear from her cheek.  Her voice was husky with a tad of evil queen. “We have been through too much together ever to be enemies again.”  It came out as a low growl, it was not what she intended, but it made Snow turn to her. 

“So why is our family not together?”  Regina was not ready to discuss Emma, but hers was not the only life that changed. 

“This is Misthaven Snow.  This place has rules different from Storybrook.”

“Like what?”  Snow was annoyed, she was Queen, and Regina was Queen, whatever rules kept them apart, could be changed.  If possible, Snow saw a side to Regina that she never thought she would see, compassion. 

“Snow, Blue demanded that Nova come back to the fairies.  Grumpy and Happy received summonses to return to the mines.  Some Lord Fartarsed or something from another Kingdom has been banishing mystical creatures of all kind, and they have found rescue, here, in the Enchanted Forest while we were gone.  This is also their home now.”

 

She looked at Snow White with pleading eyes.  “Red, Mal, and Lilly are held up at the Dark Palace because creatures like them have been outlawed and are being hunted again. Victor and his, well, unusual monster, is also hiding at my place.  And all of this because Blue and her kind could not let well be.  From the moment we landed here, everyone wanted to know when we are returning.  And that Snow is only a part of the reason why we are scattered.”  Snow nodded.  There was a consensus among the people at her Palace.  They all wanted to stay.  Jefferson most of all, but he did show Snow how his hat worked, and she has already been in contact with the other Realms.  All the votes were fragmented.

 

“People want leadership, Snow, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.”  Snow turned to Regina very slowly.  “Did you use a quotation from a romantic comedy on me?”

“Well,” Regina looked around, lifted her chin and rubbed her fingers in her typical manner. “Emma told me it was a political movie, so I watched it, the phrase stuck.”

 

Snow turned back to view Misthaven. “Your secret is safe with me Regina.” She smirked. But the words did leave her with something to think about.  “A united front would impose more validity…”  Regina looked at the dark-haired woman, and she could not get used to the long hair, instead of the Pixie style she was so used to.  “Snow White…” she splatted out the words the way the Evil Queen used to do when she was hunting for Snow. Her look, composure, everything warned Snow.

“If you think for one moment that I am going to curtsy and call you my Queen, you have another thing coming!” She was right in Snow’s face.  This was the Regina that Snow knew all too well.  Regina turned abruptly, her fingers flicking again in her ladylike manner. She looked at her nails for a moment, uninterested in Snow and her anger; she threw Snow a glance over her shoulder.

“But if you require an alliance of family and friends, you know where to find me.” She disappeared in a swirl of red mist. Snow shook her head, and a big smile appeared on her face. She gave one of her optimistic little laughs. 

“Well Mayor Mills, you had me there.”  She turned and started to think of who she can trust with this new information. Emma was in too much pain. Charming was happy to be home, and the dwarfs were divided on the matter.  She no longer trusted Blue.  She went in search of her son.

 

Neal was busy practicing archery under one of her trusted soldier’s guidance, but even from a distance, she could see that Neal no longer minded his tutor.  He aimed and shot, every time he hit the bullseye, he took a step back and would shoot again.  He was already two hundred yards away and just kept on shooting to the right of his target.   Snow indicated to the soldier that he could leave, she walked up to her son as he was about to aim again.  She slightly lifted his elbow.  He released and hit the mark.  He turned to her with a questioning look.  She smiled softly and patted a seat next to her on a log.  He reluctantly sat down.  “When your arm gets tired, one tends to drop your elbow.  Strength to shoot all day long comes with time and practice.  You are going to be stiff in the morning.”

 

He looked down to the ground. “I know you miss her Neal, and that no one here seems to match your skill with a sword or a knife.  I understand that you need to get your frustrations out.”  He gave a deep sigh, at least she understood.  “Regina came to see me.”  He looked at her waiting for an explanation.  Snow let out a deep breath.  “She explained to me that everything has changed, the rules here are different.  I do not know what to do.  Half my Kingdom wants to go back, including my son.”  Neal looked up at her, tears in his eyes.  He has not voiced it, but yes, every fiber in him wanted to go back.

“Mom…”  She held up her hand.  “I am going to ask you a question, not as your mother, but as your Queen.”  He frowned a bit.  “Do you want to go back to Storybrook?”

“Storybrook no longer exists my Queen.” Snow got a faint smile.  He certainly learned how to dance around politically challenging questions. 

“If Storybrook existed, if we invoke the Dark curse again and recreate Storybrook, would you go back?”  He looked at her with such sadness.  He swallowed hard before he answered her carefully.  “As a Prince of the White Kingdom, I will stand by whatever my Queen decides.”

“Neal…”

“You asked me as my Queen, I gave you my answer.”  He got up and started to walk away. 

“Neal wait?”  She caught up to him and took him by the arm. 

“You know Gina?”  She falters.  “Is there any way to get her here or for us to get back?”  He gave his mother a look that she has never seen before.  He was angry, angry at her. She could see him clenching his teeth while holding in his anger, then the expression changed.  He started to think.

“Yes, son of a bitch, yes!  Why did I not think about it sooner?”  For the first time that they came back, he seems to have a light in his eyes. 

“Neal?”

 

“Henry Mills, get your ass here.”  He called into the sky.  A moment later the Author door appeared and Henry stood there.  He stepped out and embraced his uncle. 

“How is Mom?”

“Not good, she cannot stop crying.”  Henry nodded.  He turned to Snow and bowed his head.

“My Queen.”  She gave him a sad smile and pulled him into an embrace.  She kissed the side of his head and then held him at arm’s length. 

“How are you Henry and how is Rapunzel?”

“We will be going back to finish our studies in a few days, and we will use the door.”  Snow nodded. 

“Have you spoken to your mothers?”

“No.”  She could hear the anger and sorrow in his voice.

“Will you try and find Gina?”  He swallowed.

“I don’t know. It is not like I can bring her back here. The door does not work that way.”  Snow frowned.   

“Then how will you take Rapunzel back with you?”

His eyes filled with tears.  So many things make sense now. 

“Gina told me it was time, I took Rapz out, told her that I know who she is, who I am, and I gave her a choice.  I would take her over the town line so that she could stay in the Realm without magic, or she could come with me to Misthaven.  She chose me. We used the door to go back to Boston that way it ensured that she could travel back with me to that Realm.”

 

Snow shook her head, she did not know that, neither did she know how serious Henry was about the girl.  “And her parents are alright with that?”  He shrugged.  He did not care any longer what anyone thought.

“You called me?”  He turned to Neal. “Yeah, want to bounce a theory off you.  Gina knew exactly what would happen.”

“Yes!”  Henry spat through his teeth. 

“She knew, you wanted to be here and I wanted to stay?  She would never tie us to a Realm where we did not want to be?”  Snow saw the same enlightenment in Henry’s eyes than what she saw a moment ago in Neal’s. 

“Son of a bitch!  Mother!”  Emma and Regina appeared next to him. Emma looked bewildered and grabbed him, looking him over for any injury.  Regina looked at Emma, trying to disguise her shock.

“What is it, what is wrong?”  Henry looked deep into her sad green eyes and pulled her into a hug. “Oh, mom!” Was all he said as he started to cry on her shoulder, holding her tight to him.  She held him so tight as if she never wanted to let him go, but after a while, she pulled away and wiped his tears and then her own. 

“Are you alright, why did you call me?”

“I called both of you.”  He looked to Regina.  “Why have you not started to look for a way back?”

“Henry?”  They both said.  They both knew of only one way to get back, and neither of them was prepared to go through that once more.  Regina could clearly see that the state of Emma’s emotions was not only mourning the loss of their daughter, with her memories back, but she was also mourning Killian all over again.  It was one of the reasons why Regina did not push Emma.  She needed to heal in her own time, in her own way.  But gods she missed her.

“No, there has to be another way!”  He insisted.  Neal was looking to the ground, this was never what he wanted, and he could not stand the pain his family was in. 

 

“Henry, you know there is no way to get back.  Storybrook is not there any longer, and a lot of people do not want to go back.  The Enchanted Forest is their home.”  Emma pleaded with him. 

“Besides, this is what you wanted.”  He looked at her with much anger. 

“What I wanted was my family together.  What I wanted was for all of you to remember who you are and who Gina is.  If I knew the price of magic, I would have never pushed her!”

“You can always use the door to find her.”  Snow suggested, and he snorted at the remark. 

“Even with the door, it took ten years the last time to find her.  She could be anywhere by now.”  Emma touched his shoulder. 

“She would go back to Boston; it is her home.”  Neal lost it.

“Boston, are you that fucking stupid Emma?  Eoin banished her, he pushed her to you, to Storybrook, why do you think that is?  Do you think Eoin Cavan helped her out of the kindness of his heart?  He manipulated her. Your fucking curse kept him trapped,  Gina set him free.”  She looked at her brother. 

“Eoin is from here?”  He just gave her a look.

 

“She lived with us for two years, and you know nothing about her!”  He looked very accusingly at Emma.  “Even before that, when she lived here, you never knew her!”  His words hurt, he didn’t care.  Everyone was avoiding the issue.  It was time someone spoke up. 

“You made a decision, you and the Queen, for all of us!  Henry made a decision, for all of us.  So fuck all of you!  Now you will live with the consequences! Welcome to my life!  Where you have no choice, other than to do someone else’s bidding.  Magic always comes with a price, and none of you have paid up!”  He started to walk away.

“Neal?”  He turned to Regina.  She was the only one that would make him stop.

“What?”

“There is a way to get back isn’t there?  Gina would have left a door?”  Neal looked at her intensely, hoping that she would see, what the others would never understand.  “She is your daughter.  What do you think?”  He carried on walking.

 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”  Emma asked her with fire in her eyes. 

“Exactly what he meant.  Henry, she read all of your books?”  He nodded.  For the first time since they landed here, Regina had a genuine smile.  “We need to find Gina’s diamond!”  Snow and Emma looked at her as if she had lost it.  Henry started to pace. “Of course!”  He said.  “Not a diamond, a coin.  A very special coin.  We need to get to Jaden.”  Before either Emma or Snow could ask, Regina grabbed Henry’s hand, and the disappeared in a red whirling mist.

 

Emma looked at her mother.  Her voice was full of emotion. “Neal is correct. I don’t know her.”  Snow held on to Emma.  Mother and daughter sharing their pain, their understanding. 

“This is all my fault,” Emma said as the tears just continued to flow.  Snow thought about it.  There were a lot of people to blame, but only one she could think of that might have answers. “Blue!”  The fairy had been avoiding her, and it took her far longer than usual to appear.

“Your Majesty.”  Blue bowed her head.  “What can I do for you?”

“I need some answers Blue, and I need the truth!”

“I have always told you the truth, my Queen.”  Emma stepped in, her superpower kicking in. 

 “And that Blue, is your first lie!”  The fairy looked uncomfortable.  Snow continued. 

“It was you and Tiger Lilley who told Fiona about Rumple and his destiny.  It was you who allowed Fiona to create the Dark curse, and it was you who banished her.”  Snow was walking closer to Blue.

“It was you who gave Bealfire the bean to save his father and in the process create Rumple’s desire to use his mother’s curse to go to the Realm without magic.  But most of all Blue, you were the one that lied to me about the magic cupboard that took Emma to that Realm.  Today, you are going to tell me the truth.”  Snow was close enough to the fairy to strangle her if she chose to do so.  “All the tragedy and misery and broken families is because you broke Fairy Law. Now tell me what the hell happened the day Gina was named?”

 

Blue looked at the Queen in shock.  She was the only one that knew. She was the first fairy, like always to give a blessing to a new Princess. Snow could not possibly know what happened that day. Killian was the only other person who knew, and he was dead, no one knew where Van Helsing was.  “I gave the Princess a blessing for life like we always do.”  Emma moved so fast that neither Blue nor Snow was prepared for it.  She was choking Blue from where she stood. 

“Just because I am not the Dark One any longer does not mean I do not know how to use dark magic!”  She yelled to Blue with venom.  The fairy dropped her wand to try and pry the grip from her throat,  even though Emma was not near her.  Snow picked up the wand. “Enough Emma.”  To her relief, Emma released the fairy. 

 

Emma walked a distance away from the two.  She stretched her mind.  She knew the day Gina was named there was something.  She was too ecstatic to realize it then, but now, looking back, after Blue’s  _blessing_  all the fairy’s acted strangely. The ones that were allowed to give the young Princess a blessing gave her unusual blessings.

 

Normally the blessings were for beauty and happiness and a life filled with love.  Blue just waved her wand, she never spoken her words. The other three elder fairies bless her with strength, wisdom, and courage. _What did Blue do_?  Emma turned around and was storming up to Blue when Snow stopped her. 

“Emma now is not the time to deal with her.” Snow waived a hand, and all of her Royal guards came out of their concealed positions in the forest.  “Arrest her for treason.”  Snow informed her Captain.

 

“I assume we will have guests tonight; I will go and speak to the cook.  She sure as hell is not Granny, but at least she stopped burning everything.  Emma gave her mother a small smile.  “What makes you so sure that Regina will come to us?”  Snow stopped to look at her daughter.  Yes, they were the same age, yes life have taught them lessons.  But a mother could still see, what her daughter obvious could not.  “Besides the fact that she is family, she misses you.  She will be here.”

 

Elsa was not surprised when Regina appeared at her Palace; neither was she surprised that they wanted to speak to Jaden.  She has been speaking to Jaden for the last few days since they arrived.  Jaden had only one thing on her mind.  She wanted to go back. Nothing Elsa said or explained deterred the girl from her plan.  She was almost relieved to see Regina.

“Queen Regina.”  Elsa bowed her head.  Regina did the same. “Queen Elsa.”  The smiled at each other.  Jaden was already in Henry’s arms.  Kissing him and asking him a million questions.  Elsa invited them in, and Regina explained what they were looking for.  Mother and daughter told them that no such item was with them.  Henry frowned. 

“She would only entrust it to someone she had complete faith in, the only person I can think off is you, Jay.”  Jaden fiddled with the necklace around her neck. It was not her heritage snowflake. It was Gina’s compass. 

“May I see that?”  Henry asked as he referred to the necklace.  Jaden took it off reluctantly it was all that she had left of Gina, that and the ring.  Henry held it in his hand and looked at it from all sides.  It was just a sliding ring with a compass in it.  He handed it to Regina, and the moment she held it, the compass went berserk.  It turned in all directions until it stopped all of a sudden.  Regina looked to the other three and got up and followed in the direction the compass indicated.  As they walked, Elsa informed her that the only room in that direction was her office.  Regina ignored her and continued.  Once in the room, the compass turned again until it stopped in front of a bookcase. Regina scanned the books. Some were storybooks. Some were Ardendale law and mythology.  She pulled out a well-worn book, with the title:  The whispers of the wind and water Nymph.

“Does this book have any significance to you?”  Elsa nodded.  “While I was hiding my powers I would read the story, wishing that my power was air and not snow.  It seems silly now since snow is water changed by air.”  Regina shook the book, and something dropped out.  Regina looked at it. It was a part of Gina’s lucky coin.   Henry picked it up, turned it in his fingers and nodded to Regina. 

“This is definitely a part of her China Double Dragon Fantasy Tael coin.”  Regina took it from him and had a look for herself. 

“How many pieces did she break it into?”  Regina retook the compass, and nothing happened. It did not turn.  She gave it to Elsa, and the compass began spinning in her hand. 

“Guess it is up to you to find the next piece?”  Elsa looked to Regina and then to Jaden. 

“Is this what you want?  To find a way to go back to Gina, even if you know I cannot abandon my position again?”  Jaden had tears in her eyes, but she nodded. 

“Alright Regina, we will go and look for the next piece.”

“Thank you, Elsa.”  She held the other Queen’s hand, and there were tears in her eyes.  Elsa nodded.  Regina and Henry left as they came, for the first time that they were back in Ardendale, Jaden looked happy. Elsa’s heart was breaking, but at the end of the day, that is all she ever wanted, was for her girl to be happy.  They will set off on their journey in the morning.

 

Regina and Henry appeared in the throne room at Snow’s Palace.  Emma, Charming, and Snow were waiting for them. “And?”  Snow asked.  Henry smiled. 

“Well it is not a diamond, and I don’t know what it will do, but she broke it up into parts.”  He gave the piece they got from Elsa to his mother.

“What is it?”  Emma asked.  Henry looked at her in astonishment.  “You really do not know her, do you?”

 

**Boston**

 

Gina walked into O’Malley’s as if she owned the place.  Eoin looked up from his usual table in the corner when he heard the murmur in the bar. 

“I thought I warned you, that I will kill you if you ever set foot in Boston again!”  He stood up while confronting Gina.  She pulled back and punched him so hard in the face that she broke his nose.  Every person in O’Malley’s that had a gun pulled it out and pointed it at Gina. She turned around her arms stretched out.

“What the fuck are you waiting for you bunch of pussies!”  She just wanted the pain to end.  It was a plan, a fucked up plan, but a plan.

 

Eoin stood up and indicated with his hands for everyone to lower their weapons. He took a napkin and wiped the blood off his face. 

“You have three minutes to explain yourself, Gina, before I gut you myself.”

“Ooh, learned so well from your mentor?”  She taunted him.  She realized that she was not going to die today, and she knew she had to keep up appearance with Eoin and he needed to be seen as the leader, any weakness will not be tolerated.  But he also needed to understand that no one would ever fuck with her again.

“I did what you asked Mr. Cavan.  I did what you sent me to do. Now you are free of Emma Swan.”  Eoin nodded.

“Then why are you here?”  Gina leaned in closer so that only Eoin could hear what she had to say.  “I broke the curse for you, lost boy!  You are no longer bound by the fairy tale world.  You can do whatever you like.”  Eoin nodded.  “But your freedom cost me, my entire family, so now you owe me a debt.”  Eoin laughed. 

“Really Gina, me being in your debt?”  This time he leaned in.  “It will never happen.”

Gina gave him a smile that did not reach her eyes.  “I will stay here, I will go back to work for Tommy.  Tommy and his entire family are off limits. You do not touch them; you do not employ them, you do not ask any of them for favors. They will no longer be part off or work for the Irish mob.”  Eoin laughed a belly laugh,

“Oh Gina, you are a dreamer.” She smiled sweetly at him this time.  “Remember we had a deal, Eoin.  I finish school and get a degree, I am in the process of fulfilling my end of the deal, and this will be your end of the deal.”  He frowned.  She was too cocky.

“And why would I keep this deal and pay you a favor?”  Gina stepped up to him, grabbed his hand and looked straight into his eyes. 

“Because of who you made a deal with!”  Her eyes turned silver. He could see what he did not know.  “Dark One.”  He whispered. 

“That’s right Dearie, and as you well know, no one breaks deals with me.”  He swallowed and nodded.

“This deal will stand for as long as you live Eoin Cavan, and it will include my other family, should they ever find a way back.”  Eoin swallowed and nodded.

“Always a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Cavan.”  She walked out of the bar. That was not the plan, but at least she got Tommy and Mick out of the business.


	36. So moth, what did you do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the continued support  
> A few details about Regina and the relationship with Gina is revealed

**Chapter 36**

Tommy was surprised to see Gina walk into his shop after two years of absence. What surprised him more was that she walked in with several of Eoin Cavan’s henchmen. “Tommy.”

“Ginny?” She looked different. Whatever happened to her in the last two years, it changed her, dramatically so. Cavan’s men made their way to the back where Tommy did the mob part of his job. “What is going on Gina?”

“You always said that you wished you could get out of the business. Today is your lucky day Tommy. I suggest you get over to Mick. They are clearing Eoin’s stuff there too. You no longer work for him, but you are still under his protection.” Tommy watched her open-mouthed. He lifted up his big hands that came to rest on Gina’s shoulders.

 

“Gina, I cannot accept this. This will come at an enormous price.”

Gina looked into his eyes. He saw a raw pain there that Gina never had before.

“It did Tommy, and the debt is paid, I just cashed in from Eoin. The safety of my family.”

He pulled her into a bear hug and rushed off to Mick’s before his brother did something stupid. When he returned, Cavan’s men were gone. Gina was in his office, drinking straight from the bottle of Irish whiskey.

He stood in the doorway and watched her for a while.

“What happened Lass?” She looked up to him, placed the bottle on his desk and stretched to her full length in her three-inch boots she bought from Mick two years back. She was still a head and a half shorter than him.

“Can I have my job back, and my room?”

“Off course Lass, your room needs a bit of a clean-up though.”

“Thank you, Tommy, I will move in today and start working tomorrow, just tell me what you need.” He nodded, and she got up to leave, he held her by the arm. He was still waiting for an explanation on his original question. Gina stopped side by side with him.

“If you ever ask me that question again, I will put you in the hospital, and Tommy, don’t think I can’t.” She left him and said hi to all the other guys before she took out her bike and some clothes from the trailer. She will start a new life with Tommy. She will get registered under her birth names, and she will work for Tommy legally, she will go to night school and try to adapt. That was all that was left for her now.

**Misthaven present day**

 

Blue looked terrified when Regina walked up to the dungeon cell where she was kept. Regina has always been the one person that Blue never gave a chance. Now she will be at the mercy of this woman. Regina opened the cell with a wave of her hand. She sat down on a bench opposite for the measly bed Blue was sitting on. Regina looked like she was in a business meeting in the Mayor’s office. Legs crossed at the ankles and to the side, her one arm up, her fingers in her typical feminine manner. She looked at her nails for a moment before she turned her head towards Blue. “So moth, what did you do?” There was no mistake who was sitting in front of Blue. She knew Regina only needed the slightest of reasons to hurt her that way she has always promised and Blue had no way to defend herself, so she told the story.

**Misthaven sixteen years ago**

 

Bluebirds were arriving at the White Palace for weeks now, but during the last week, their messages tripled. Snow White was not only getting messages for the Enchanted Forest and surrounding Kingdoms, but she was also receiving messages from other Realms. It felt like they were fighting Fiona on all fronts, her army, however small, consisted of old enemies and every creature of evil and violence. Fiona’s promise to the creatures of the night was that once she won and overtook the Enchanted Forest and the other Realms, they would have the Realms for themselves, with her as ruler over all. None of this concerned Snow, not with the magic power she had at her disposal. It was when she received a message from Hyde and Gregor that she started to worry. If scary men got scared, there was a problem.

 

She called her council. All the reports were getting worse by the day. Fiona had them outnumbered four to one. How she managed it in such a short time, left Snow mystified. She made a decision and using Jefferson’s portal met with all the leader that was in peril. They accepted her plan, and all reinforcement was sent to the White Kingdom.

 

They waited for the vast army in an open field. It was like a dark, cold cloud was ascending on them. Everyone took on their positions. This was a plan to destroy Fiona once and for all. Belle had the dagger when Emma gave the sign, Belle called the Dark One and commanded her to fight off her own army. The rest of them were standing in a pyramid behind Emma. She was considered the most powerful, Regina and Trina to her sides, Mal, Ariel, Elsa and Grand Pabbie behind them. Behind them, the four witches from Oz Glinda, Locasta, Evanora, Zelena and, Lily, a Phoenix and the most significant Gryphon Emma had ever seen. The pyramid continued according to magical powers, then physical skills. They all had one mission, to give Emma as much of their strength as possible. Emma nodded, the process started. Regina and the Evil Queen blasting their power into her. Maleficent turned into a Dragon and poured all the magic, mystic and fire from a Dragon into the Queens the same way Ariel called a storm and used the power of the oceans, Elsa summed the winds and fueled Ariel’s raging storm with wind and ice. Grand Pabbie folding his little hands and brought the earth to life, trapping ogres and giants.

Emma felt the power filling her as one row after the other transferred their power to Emma. They were pushing the large army back and the fact that Belle was using Fiona’s Dark power against her own army, did not keep the dark mass loyal for long. Emma, Regina, and the Evil Queen felt power drain from them at an alarming rate. “Mal, we need more power!” Regina screamed over the winds and fire. Mal, Ariel, Elsa and Grand Pabbie blasted all the energy they possessed to the Queens in order to fill Emma more.

 

Then they felt it. Power like neither the Queens nor Emma had ever felt before. It was warm, white and breathless in its strength. For a moment the three woman floated above the others. Their combined powers enough to blast back the remainder of Fiona’s dark forces.

They softly landed on the green field, their enemy in retreat. The Evil Queen was first to speak. “Is that what white magic feels like?” She was looking at her hands as if she wanted the feeling back. “That was something else,” Regina answered her. “I have never felt the magic that strong or so pure.” Emma was looking at Fiona and Belle.

“Belle, can you please get rid of that?” She said and walked away. Belle banished the Dark One from Misthaven. Everyone thought that was the end. They forgot that all magic comes with a price and that the powers they all rendered today was like nothing Misthaven have ever seen. Before Emma could find her parents, the Phoenix and the Griffon waved their wings over her and some of their magic landed on her. Maleficent did the same thing. Still, in Dragon form, she breathed a raging blue flame over Emma. It did not burn. It was almost comforting. It left Emma confused, but it also made her feel good.

 

One by one the mystical creatures turned back into their human form. The Phoenix, to everyone’s surprise, turned into a man. He stretched up and met Maleficent’s eyes.

“Never thought we would fight on the same side Mal.” She gave him a half smile. “Good to know I can still keep you on your toes Metheus.” He bowed his head to her before he turned to Elsa. In his entire immortal life, he has never seen a more beautiful woman. She did not see him.

 

Snow announce their victory, and everyone cheered. She invited everyone to a feast at the White Palace. Most of her visitors accepted gracefully. Maleficent, Lilith, and the Evil Queen declined. “We would not like to become too familiar with each other would we now?” Mal asked Snow in her dry, humorless voice. Regina shook her head and approached Snow.

“Don’t worry. I will entertain the darker half of the family.” She joked dryly, but the split was obvious. A lot of enemies of the White Kingdom helped her today, but it was only because they had a common enemy and a common goal. The last thing Regina felt like looking at the rest of the night was Guyliner and Emma making puppy dog eyes at each other. The mere thought warranted throwing up.

“Met, are you joining us?” Regina asked. He fake being offended.

“Are you grouping me with the evil family?” Regina tapped her finger in irritation against her leg. “It is just because you have friends here, and yes, some considered you evil since you are a thief and did disobey your King.” He gave a light laugh before he folded his flaming angel-like wings back. “Remember where your fire comes from the next time you throw one of your famous flaming balls. Then you can thank me again for stealing it for your kind.” Regina smiled at him.

“I assume that you are out to make new friends tonight?” She looked at the beautiful Queen of Ardendale. Metheus smiled back.

“Perhaps, perhaps we have already met,  I would like to rekindle our…friendship?” Regina waved her hand over him. He looked down.

“Thank you, Regina, I assume this is appropriate attire for the evening?” “Indeed!” She opened her hand and gave him a pendant of a Phoenix.

“A gift, always leaves an impression on a lady, and by the gods, please remember that she is a Queen?” He smiled and walked towards her to hug her.

“I will be a gentleman I promise.”

 

The feast was grand, and everyone was enjoying the festivities. Hook and Emma danced in each other’s arms, as did Charming and Snow. Metheus went up to Elsa to ask the Queen for a dance. She looked into his face, for a moment she did not know if she wanted to slap him or kiss him. She did both. The slap echoed through the hall, for a moment the host couple looked in the direction of Elsa, the slap clear on the face of the man that no one knew, but came to help anyway. Then Elsa stood on her toes to kiss him. She left him breathless. He escorted her to the dance floor. They never left each other’s arms for the rest of the night. He gave her the broach Regina conjured for him, Elsa smiled.

“Metheus, I know who you are and what you do, but it has been ten years?” He looked deep into the blue eyes, flaming as he looked into her Soul.

“I apologize my Queen.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

“You should come and revisit Ardendale.” She pulled away from him. “So that I can introduce you to your daughter.” He looked at her dumbfounded.

“I’m a father?” Elsa gave him a soft smile. “Yes Prometheus, you are a father.”

 

It was a few months later that Emma all of a sudden got ill. Snow called for Regina and Granny to see if they could help. Regina moved her hand over Emma. She stopped mid-way and took her hand away.  _Gods_ , she thought. _It is going to be one of those moments_. Like the time she had to tell Emma that she was happy for her when she got engaged to Hook. Then again at the wedding. Happy smiles when all you feel is your heart breaking.

 

Granny was in conversation with Snow about Emma symptoms. Granny already made her mind up as to what was wrong when she looked to Regina and saw the sadness there that she tried to hide so well. Granny nodded and placed her hand on Regina’s arm. The Queen was already smiling through her tears. Both Emma and Snow was waiting in anticipation for the diagnoses. Regina smiled again and swallowed the pain down.

“Congratulations Princess Emma, you are expecting a child.” Regina teleported to her own palace as soon as it was appropriate. Her Evil half was sitting with a drink in her hand exactly where Regina appeared.

“Thanks.” She took the drink. Trina and Mal had been cooking up all sorts of sharp alcohol over the last few weeks. Regina found that it was still one of the things that could calm her. Now and then she would let go and utterly legless with Mal, Trina and sometimes Red. It made her forget, if only for a while.

While Emma's belly was growing and Hook running around like he was the only man alive that had ever got a woman pregnant. He even ordered his boy, what would pass as a pirate Babygrow. It was sickening to Regina, while the rest of the Kingdom just thought it was adorable. Regina was sitting in meetings with Snow and Charming, to try and sort out the division in their Kingdoms. Sometimes the other rulers would join them. Abigail and Frederick, Thomas and Ella, Phillip and Aurora. For a change, Queen Arianna and King Frederic joined them instead of whaling over their lost daughter.

All the Kingdoms in Misthaven. It was during a meeting like this that Regina often felt like just blasting at someone or something. Besides the fact that she was bored, she remembered why she turned people into snails. It was much more comfortable than to listen to their ramblings about politics, alliances, army support, and food shortages. Regina was not paying attention, the meeting went quiet, and she realized that everyone was staring at her.

“What!” She spat out as only an irritable Regina could. Snow cleared her throat.

“Regina, Thomas was expressing his concern about your Kingdom being the most powerful regarding magic.” Regina threw him the look.

“Really?” She got up and walked towards Thomas. “Are you scared of the two Evil Regina’s and their older sister, two Dragons and a hunchback?”

Before she could stop herself, she flicked her fingers and opened her hand, turning Thomas into a huge bat. She turned her head, looking at her creation. She even got a faint smile. She forgot how amusing things like that could be. Thomas suddenly turned back to the King he was. Regina turned to the staircase leading down to the war room. She looked. Emma was even more beautiful if it was possible, she was glowing. More stunning with the child growing inside of her. “Seems as long as the Savior is here, you have nothing to worry about.” She addressed Thomas and disappeared. The last thing she heard was Emma calling her name.

 

As usual, Trina was waiting for her with a drink in her hand, which Regina swallowed in one gulp. “That bad?” Trina asked. “Just refill it and tell me we can blow up something today?” Trina giggled, she liked her other self a little darker.

“Little rumors are running around.” Regina sat down next to herself. They were both still getting used to it. It was Zelena that gave the Evil twin a name. Zelena, Regina, and Trina. They all seemed happy with it, and it was causing less confusion. “What kind of rumors?” Trina drank the last the concoction in her glass.

“That Fiona is reorganizing.” It’s been nearly nine months since Fiona’s attack. Emma was about to become a mother. Regina wiped the angry tears. She disappeared in a puff.

 

She was not in particular in the mood to do what she was about to do, but one fights fire with fire or a tidal wave. She was looking for her onslaught. She knew of every dark creature that existed, but more than that, she knew the ones that lived in fear. Over the next two weeks, she visited every one. Banshees, Werewolves, Dark Nymphs of the forest, Black Unicorns, she even got a few Kelpies and a Yeti to join forces with her. She was building her own Kingdom and her personal army. She also managed to convince a few trolls and ogres to join her. She did not give any of them a promise, only that they would be welcome in her Kingdom and that they will not be hunted there. They all might have been dark creatures, but soon word spread and all manner of mystical creatures made their way to Regina’s Dark Palace, including a pure white Unicorn. She had never seen one, and the moment she touched it, she felt a huge load lifted from her. She bowed to the purest of all mystical creatures. The Unicorn did the same. Regina felt honored.

 

It was a day later when she heard Emma call her in all earnest. She walked into Emma’s room, the red swirls disappearing behind her. Guyliner was passed out on the floor. Granny and Doc were coaching Emma during the delivery. Regina peeped under the sheet. She was fully dilated, and the head of the baby was already showing, probably the reason why Guyliner passed out. She grabbed Emma’s hand and held it tight to her heart.

 

“You are the strongest woman I know, and you can do this.” Emma felt that Regina was magically giving her strength, little by little. Emma started to feel better. She had been in labor for almost a day. She was exhausted.

“Come, Emma, the baby’s head is already out, you need to give one more big push,” Regina spoke softly while still holding Emma’s hand. She had an iron grip on Regina, she never had this kind of pain with Henry, but she felt the difference as soon as Regina walked into the room. Calmness, pride, love, their unique friendship. Regina was the only one she wanted by her side now.

 

Emma clutched Regina’s hand harder, pushed one more time with an echoing scream and then fell back against the pillows when she heard the baby cry. Regina swept her hand over Emma, to give her much needed rest. Granny was busy cleaning the baby, but Regina swept her hand over the baby and then she took the small bundle from Granny. She wrapped the little girl into one of the several blankets lying around. Granny watched amazed as the new Princess settled in Regina’s arms and immediately stopped crying. Granny has seen every facet of this mysterious woman called Regina Mills,  she thought that there was no more surprises, nothing more to learn, but today, Regina had a look that the old woman has never seen, not even with Henry.

 

Regina looked into the baby’s green eyes. She felt like the child could see into her Soul and from that moment, they formed a bond that would surpass time and space. It felt like this was her daughter, not Emma’s and yet, she could feel Emma in the child. Regina let the tears form in her eyes and slip over her cheeks as she was holding the baby. She kissed the new Princess on her head, her cheeks, the tiny hands that were grabbing at Regina. She felt strange. Even with all the joy of holding Henry for the first time, this felt different. Regina kissed the baby one more time and then woke Emma with a swipe of her hand. Emma sat up and looked from Regina to the baby. Emma knew her friend so well. She could see Regina’s joy. She could also feel her immense pain.

“You have a little Princess, Princess.” They both laughed through their tears as Regina handed her the girl. Regina came to sit on the bed next to Emma, while Emma looked over the tiny bundle. She wiped Emma’s face, stroke her hair back, glanced at mother and child. She held Emma and kissed her on her cheek. She stroked the baby’s head while rubbing Emma’s back and then looked in awe as Emma pulled her shirt open and fed the baby. The new Princess swallowed the given nipple into her mouth, and a tiny hand rested on her mother’s breast. Regina had never seen anything so beautiful in her life, and she burned the image into her mind for eternity.

“Whoa, she seems to like these.” Emma joked as the baby changed from one breast to the other.  _If she only knew…_ Regina laughed and kissed Emma again, rubbing the baby on her back, she got up. Emma looked panicked for a moment.

“I will call your mother and see if I can get your husband to wake up.” Emma had a small frown. _Why did she call Regina, when Killian and Snow were right here_? She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as Snow entered the room, the joy on her face endless, the bell in the tower announcing to the Kingdom that a new Royal was born.

 

Regina kicked Killian a few times before he woke up. She looked at him with utter disappointment and kneeled next to him.

“Your wife needed you Hook. If you ever fail to support them again in anything, I will personally cut off your other hand.” Killian still sat bewildered as Regina disappeared in her veil of red. Then he saw Emma, and his baby girl and everything was forgotten.

 

Snow’s bluebirds were telling her what Trina seemed to know weeks ago. They also informed her of the growing army of mystical creatures at the Dark Palace. But her concern was not with the Mills sisters. It was with Fiona again. She had been absent from their lives for almost a year. She was now using her Dark One magic to enslave people and creatures alike. Her army was growing by the day. She was producing dark fairy dust. She was using any and every potion she could conjure up. Her giants were bigger stronger, all the ogres and trolls had armor, protecting their weak spots. She would raise the dead if she could to enlarge her army. But this time she was patient. She attacked one Realm at a time, starting with the one Realm, Snow White most likely did not care about. Neverland and Pleasure Island

 

Fiona convinced the shadows in the dark hollow to attack the lost boys since Peter Pan was no longer there to feed them and keep them safe. And they did her bidding. The few lost boys that returned to the island out of their own volition called upon the White Kingdom for assistance. It became Jefferson’s permanent job to keep the door between the Realms open. He was happy with the work, and it meant that he and Grace could be together while earning a good wage and for once, use his ability to the good of others.

After the few boys escaped Neverland, the door was closed. The Realm was lost. The war had started. The next to fall was the Land of Untold Stories, then Wonderland. Everyone that escaped through the portal doors was accommodated in the White Kingdom. The war room was permanently filled with Kings and Queens and other leaders to plan an action against Fiona. She was not attacking them like the last time. She was using evil within each Realm to attack each other. She was creating a civil war within every Realm. Unlike most military leaders, she struck on several fronts all at once,  as the smaller Realms fell one by one, Snow and Charming sat up for hours planning ways to protect the Realms that were still standing.

 

She had another meeting with Regina, asking this time to combine their powers. Emma was with them in the room. “Where is the baby?” Emma looked at her. “With Granny.”

Regina gave Emma a look of utter disbelieve. The baby was almost two months old, and in a few days, it would be her naming ceremony. Regina closed her eyes for a brief moment, as she disappeared in her red mist, Trina, Maleficent, and Zelena appeared.

“Regina asked us to help,” Maleficent said as if it explained everything. Snow turned to them aggressively. “Why should we trust you? You have been giving sanctuary to several dark and evil creatures!”

“True,” Mal said, wishing she had brought a strong drink with her. “But if you flapping friends told you everything, you would know that we were housing some very powerful mystical creatures.”

Trina sat down at the war table and conjured up three glasses and a bottle of their latest brew. “You see dear, unlike you, Regina knew we had not seen the end of Fiona, so she planned ahead. Every dark creature under her protection is a dark creature not fighting for Fiona.” There was silence in the room. The three not so pleasant woman, drinking their brew.

“Good gods!” Zelena said. “What is this? Swamp water?” Mal answered her in her usual tone. “Take a few more sips; it gets better.”

Snow, Charming and Emma looked at them in utter amazement. How could anyone drink at a time like this?

 

“So what exactly are we doing here?” Trina asked. Emma ignored her.

“Where is Regina?” Trina closed her eyes for a moment.

“She is with the rug rat and the handless wonder. Emma opened her mouth to protest when she remembered who she was talking to. And so the unlikely trio became part of the advisors to the Queen that neither of them acknowledged. After a day, even Charming had to admit that they knew what they were talking about, their dark backgrounds gave them insight into Fiona’s mind.

They helped create potions and spells to protect the rest of the Realms, under Blue’s guidance, fairy dust was added to everything to give it a kick. It was distributed all over the Realms and Kingdoms.

 

Regina was having a stroll with Killian, watching her son and his young uncle learning to fight. “Look, baby, there is Henry and Neal.” The baby squealed in her arms as if she already knew who they were. Killian looked at her serious for a moment.

“May I ask you something, Regina?” She rolled her eyes.

“You can ask Hook, I might not answer.”

“This, what we are doing, should it not be Emma here with our child?” Regina thought about it for a moment.

“Yes Captain, it should be your wife instead of me, but remember Emma is not only the heir to this Kingdom, she is also the Savior. Right now, she is fighting for all of us again. Her sacrifice now is to ensure that all these children have a future.” Killian nodded. He did not like it, but he understood.

 

Regina knocked on Emma’s door. “Regina?” She asked.

“Who else?” Regina answered irritated.

“Come in.” Emma was sitting in a rocking chair by the window, feeding the baby. She already called her by her name when no one was around, but tonight will be her naming celebration when the new Princess was formally introduced to the Kingdom, Royals and subjects alike. Regina watched them, still amazed at the beauty and wonder of it. When the baby stopped drinking, Emma closed her shirt and got ready to burp the baby.

“Em, I can do that. It is why I am here, and they need you downstairs.” Emma looked at her friend. “It feels like I never get to just be with her.” She held the baby close to her heart. “And tonight is your big night little one.  I know of a few surprises that await some people. Regina rolled her eyes. “Pleeese Emma tell me that you are not naming her after your mother?” Emma giggled.

“Why, my Evil Queen, would two Snow’s be too much for you to handle?”

“I hate you,” Regina said flat. But thought,  _Was Emma flirting?_  Emma kissed her on the side of her mouth, and Regina felt her insides turn.

“Not true, you love me!”  _If you only knew_ , Regina thought. Emma sighed, handed the baby over to Regina. She kissed the baby on her head and left. The moment her mom was away, the tiny mite placed both her hands on Regina’s face.

 

“And what would you like to do today Princess?” She kissed the baby’s cheeks and turned once with her. Her delightful laughter was filling the room. Regina was truly happy, at just that moment.


	37. Something different about Gina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hope this chapter meets expectations. Mention of self-inflicted wounds.

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**Chapter 37**

 

The Queen and King were sitting on their throne, Prince Neal, Prince Henry and Princess Emma stood adjacent to them.  All the Kings and Queens from Misthaven was present.  Elsa and her ten-year-old daughter came especially for the ceremony.  Emma was so grateful for their presence.  Killian was standing to the side of the throne.  The Mills sisters were for a change behaving at their best.  Emma thought it might be because the liquor has not yet been distributed.  Every one raised as Granny came down the steps with the latest Royal member in her arms.  Killian was beaming as Emma joined him next to the throne as she took the baby from Granny’s arms.

 

Snow got up and addressed everyone formally. “Kings, Queens, Family, and friends, welcome to this occasion, where we welcome another member into the White Kingdom.”  She sat down, everyone clapped and turned their attention to Emma. 

“Killian and I did not have to think too long about a name, we instantly agreed.  Our baby will be named after her Godmother and her Grandmother.”  Snow inhaled a breath; she did not know. Regina almost conjured up a drink.  _Gods, Eugenia Snow White_   _Swan_  she could not think of a worse name.  

“It is our pleasure to introduce you to Regina Snow Jones.”  The happy couple turned to Regina who stood like a statue. 

“I think it is your cue to smile and kiss the baby, dear, or the mother if you please,” Trina whispered to her with a wicked smile.  Regina’s face lit up, in two strides she was with them. 

“You want me to be her Godmother?  You named her after me?”  Regina took the baby and held her tight, her smiles and tears, much the same as the first time she held the baby. 

“Little Gina.”  She whispered to the baby, the name stuck. 

Everyone held the baby, but she landed into Regina’s arms more often than not.  Emma and Killian walked out to the balcony and introduced Princess Regina to everyone else.  There were cheers and smiles all around. They turned back into the Palace. It was time for the fairies to bless the baby.  They have not seen much of Blue, like Regina she was preparing for war and producing fairy dust and trying to get hold of as much Pixie dust as was possible.  Blue and three elder fairies came flying in.  Little Gina was in a carry crib. Blue stood next to her smiling.  She lifted her wand to cast her blessing when she felt it.  She moved the wand over the baby.  There was no doubt in her mind.  She inhaled and silently waved her wand over Princess Gina.  She stood to one side, hoping that no one saw anything amiss.  When the second fairy came to the baby, she threw a look at Blue and then with a happy smile bless baby Gina with the strength to withstand any obstacle or hard times in life, in mind, body, and Soul.  The second Fairy blessed her with wisdom and the ability to absorb knowledge.  The third one smiled at the baby with sadness in her eyes. She waved her wand.  “Princess Gina, I bless you with courage, to fight for what is right and to be brave and stand up when you are needed.”

Emma and Killian thought it was terrific gifts the fairies gave their child, Regina watched Blue with suspicion.

***********

Gina brought a light where ever she stepped her little feet.  Being a curious child, she roamed through the Palace as soon as she could take more than two steps.  Regina seemed to be her constant caretaker.  Whenever her parents were called to the war room, or Killian called to the training fields, Regina would be there to take over.  One day after the Princess turned one year old, Emma was handing the baby to Regina. 

“We could use you, Regina.” Regina smiled at the little Princess, making funny faces as she replied to Emma. 

“You have Trina, and she knows everything that I do, in fact, she perhaps knows more.”

“I could ask Granny to take her for today, to give you a break?”

Little Gina placed her chubby baby hands on Regina’s cheeks and to the amazement of both women said, “Re’na” Regina looked at Emma in shock. 

“Since when does she speak, half hurt that she was not there for her first word, she was there for everything else, her birth, first feeding, first poop, and first step.  Emma looked at the baby in Regina’s arms, the same sadness there.  

“That was her first word.”  Regina looked at her. 

“What?  Normally their first word is dada, or in her case, I suppose it would be Hook?”

Emma kissed her daughter on the cheek. 

“No, her first word was Regina.”  Just to make a point, she repeated: “Re’na.” And smiled proudly at her mother.

 

Emma was in a mood when she got to the war room, all her actions and suggestions were aggressive, Trina and Maleficent were encouraging her.  When Emma got to the training field later that day, she disarmed every opponent, even when they attacked in a group.  She told both her husband and father what she thought of their training.  She returned to the nursery far earlier than she usually did.  She was missing so much of her daughter, as she did with Henry and she wanted to make time for her children. As soon as she walked in, she looked at Regina. 

 

“We are playing dress up.”  Emma smiled, obviously, Gina was applying the makeup.

“I can see that.”  At her voice, Little Gina turned and ran to her mother as fast as her little legs could carry her.  She grabbed the Savior by the leg. “Mama!”  Tears sprang to Emma’s eyes.  Regina smiled at her. She kindly lifted her brow. 

“Seems like with everything, our little Princess is excelling, two words in one day?” Emma was only laughing through her tears as she held the child that she picked up.  She leaned over and placed a chased kiss on Regina’s lips.  Regina’s entire body lit up with heat.  “Thank you, Regina.” “Re’na!”  The bundle of joy repeated.

 

Something happened between her and Regina that day.  Emma made sure that she spent more time with her children and included Hook as much as she could, but Regina was always there.  They would make plans in the morning when Regina teleported into the Palace and knocked on Emma’s bedroom door.  Usually, she was feeding the baby, for Regina, it became harder and harder to look at Emma’s exposed body.  It was something she did not understand, but she neither questioned it.

 

The three of them would set out for the training field before Emma went to the war room.  She would practice a bit with Henry and then Neal, then she and Regina would swap places, Emma would coo to the baby, telling her that Henry was her brother, repeating over and over Henry, Neal, and Hook.  The very first time Henry dueled against his mother he told her that he would take it easy on her.  She was dressed in black and red leather and looked every bit the lady and Queen.  Regina gave him a serious downward look through her eyelashes, everything emanating from her was dark.  She met her son in battle, he gave it his all, but she would out duel him on every strike.  He was starting to lose his temper, and in an overcommitted attack, Regina turned, slapped him on his butt with the wooden sword. 

“Never, never lose your temper in battle, the moment you do is the moment you lose.”

“So you think that you can go into battle because you fought against a sixteen-year-old boy?”  She smiled at him amused, Emma pulled a face, _gods, someone was about to have their asses handed to them_. 

“Very well my Prince.”  Regina bowed to him. 

“Pick your champion.” Henry looked at her for a moment to see if she was serious, then he called Calvin.  He was one of the Captains that was part of Snow White’s personal guard, Henry’s hero and a mountain of a man.  Calvin gave Regina a blunt steel sword, the ones they used for training of the men.  Regina met the man at his chest, and his muscles looked as if they were about to tear through his shirt.  Regina held her sword to her face and then let it drop to her right side, Calvin did the same.  They circled each other.  Calvin struck first.  He watched the woman; there was no need to hold back with her, she was well equipped to handle a sword.

 

They danced around each other struck and parry.  Emma was bouncing Little Gina on her knee. She saw the change in Regina’s body immediately. She smiled,  _oh gods; he is in it now!_   A button from Regina’s very tight corset seemed just to pop off, exposing her already voluptuous breasts a little more. Calvin’s attention fell on the perfect cleavage for a moment, and Regina used that moment to disarm him and struck her sword against his throat.  Henry looked on in horror as his hero surrender to his mother.  Emma noticed that the button was back in place. 

“What!  How did she do that?” 

Calvin blushed.  “Lesson learned Queen Regina.”  He bowed to her and answered Henry. 

“I got distracted for a moment, and she used it to her advantage.”

“Distracted, you never get distracted!”  Calvin smiled at the young Prince. 

“I have never fought your mother before either.”  He blushed again and walked away. 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

 

Regina called over Mulan, which offered her services to Snow.  “Now Henry, this might be a fair fight.” 

“But she is a woman and so small!”  Regina only smiled at him.  The same thing happened to Merida that was happening to Mulan.  The men left her out, never seek advice, never took her on, never learning. But Merida had far more temper that was good for her. 

Robin shot a bullseye from an impossible distance.  Merida was standing a few feet behind him and while the men were cheering him. Merida split his arrow in two.  Not one to shy away from a challenge, he took a few steps behind her and split her arrow.  She smiled at him, insulted his manhood and took aim, to split the last arrow again.  Robin took a step back. His arrow landed shy from the middle. Merida laughed.  _Men_. Then out of nowhere, from a farther distance, Merida’s arrow was split.  She turned her head to see a hooded figure in cream leathers.  Merida walked up to the intruder. 

 

“Think you’re that good?”  She said in her heavy accent.  She took her place behind the figure and shot.  Again splitting the middle arrow.  The hooded figure asked for the target to be cleared as both stepped back.  The stranger’s arrow landed in the middle of the bullseye.  Merida split it.  They stepped back.  Two more times they outdid each other. The third time Merida’s arrow landed right next to the stranger’s. 

“Shall we call it a tie?” Snow asked as she took off her hood and Merida and the rest all bowed to her.  Snow reach for the young redhead’s arm. 

“Please Merida, you are a Queen in your own right, helping me.  No need for formalities.” No man on the archery field ever questioned the redhead again; even Robin paid her, her due respect.

 

Now Regina was trying to do the same for Mulan.  She has seen the girl sharpening her sword or practicing on her own, for far too long.  The entire fight with Mulan was different. There was no overt display of brute strength, only skill. Regina had to move out of the way of Mulan’s Katana more than once.  She knew very well what the sword could do.  Emma watched the woman, and it was like a dangerous, seductive dance.  She watched Regina as she moved.  Grace, courage, eloquence. And oh so beautiful. Emma was holding her breath as they fought.  She knew that she might have to heal at least one of them.  As the thought struck her, Mulan sliced into Regina’s upper right arm.  Mulan stepped back.  “Would you like to stop at first blood?”  Regina gave her a wicked smile.

 

“Why would I if I am having so much fun?”  Mulan bowed to her, a sign of respect. Regina switched fighting hands.  The left-handed attacks from Regina were different, Mulan found herself retreating more and more.  The men around them were watching in awe.  There was no doubt that both woman far outweighed all of them in skill and endurance.  None of them would be able to fight for so long.

 

When Mulan struck Regina again, Emma stopped the fight.  Regina was out of breath. 

“Took you long enough, Mulan was killing me out there!” She stood to her full length and placed a fist into an open palm in front of her chest and bowed to Mulan.  Mulan has been honored like this before, but here, in a land that did not understand her culture, this was a great honor.  She returned the gesture to Regina, and the Queen wrapped her arm around the young girl.  The Queen called over her shoulder. 

“I will give any man a hundred gold coins if they can draw first blood against Mulan.”  Said woman looked up at her in shock. 

“Believe me, dear, after the first ten men lay bleeding on the ground, they will stop challenging you, besides, they know nothing of your weapon or your fighting style.  You will draw first blood, every time in three steps.  Mulan smiled up at her.  Henry joined them. 

“Are you alright mom?”  She ruffled his hair that was much too long. “Yes, my Prince. Emma will fix me up now.”

 

Regina looked nothing like a queen when they made it back to Emma’s bedroom. 

“Take your corset off.”

“Emma it is only my arm and my side, you can heal it.”  Emma turned to her, the green eyes looking at Regina worried. 

“No, I know that you took more than one knock, I want to see.”  Regina has never been ashamed of her body, but her breath was uneven as she undressed and met Emma’s eyes.  Emma healed her arm and the cut on her right side first. Then she turned Regina around. Healed several bruises there. When they looked at each other again, Emma licked her lips and Regina thought she was going to die.  Neither broke eye contact as Emma placed her hand softly on Regina’s breast to heal a nasty bruise there that Mulan gave her with the hilt of her sword.  Emma swallowed as she looked down to make sure she caught everything. 

“There, all done.”  She turned her back to Regina, while Regina got dressed with a sweep of her hand in different, clean leather.

 

“Emma?”  The word was soft and husky.  Emma closed her eyes, her back still to Regina.  When she turned, she had a neutral face. “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”  Emma heard much more than just a thanks.  She watched Regina as she walked out.  Emma leaned her head against the clothes cupboard. A tear fell as she remembered saving Regina from the Darkness and Regina coming after her to the alternate Enchanted Forest to bring them back.  She was so scared, all the time, except when Regina was close.  Even Hook and her parents could not give her the comfort and strength that Regina could.

“What is happening between us?”

**********

 

Several things changed by Little Gina’s third birthday.  The toddler started to refuse the dresses Regina or Emma picked for her. Instead, she began to wear clothes like her father and brother.  She even insisted that Killian made her, her own hook.  He laughed but came to her a day later with a makeshift gauntlet that she could pull over her little fist, a wooden hook at the end.  The light in Gina’s eyes warmed his heart.  The toddler got her own sword, and wooden fighting dummy, her size and she worked and fought endlessly with the soldiers.  Many thought it adorable and thought that soon the Princess would go back to dresses and playing in the castle.  It was only Regina that knew different, and as the seasons changed, rain and snow, Gina was fighting.  It was as if her mind started to understand what was happening.

 

Regina noticed it first at night when the archers were called out, and anyone with magic was on the battalions, warding off the ogres and giants that were starting to become harder to take down, due to the Dark fairy dust Fiona were supplying them with.  Most of the children that lived in the Enchanted Forest before the war were crying or sitting frightened holding themselves.  Gina at her almost four foot stood ready before the door, her sword in hand.  She understood that she was a Princess of the Realm.  It was part of her heritage to protect her people.  She also had the heart of a warrior with the spirit of a fire Dragon, as Mulan told her.  Mulan believed in the power of birth signs. Gina was born in the month of Ares, a fire sign, in the Chinese year of the Dragon.  That alone made the child stronger than most people. The courage, strength, and wisdom that she was blessed with by the fairies, just added to the unique child.

 

The attacks from Fiona’s army was more frequent and lasted longer.  Only the Enchanted Forest, Ardendale, the MerCity Atlantica and Atlantis itself still stood firm against her.  After a night of particularly vicious attacks, somehow a vampire made its way into the hall where all the civilians were held up.  Granny shot it a few times, and even though she could not turn into a wolf any longer, she still had remarkable strength.  The vampire went down and all Granny saw was the Princess storming it. Instead of yelling out to stop, Granny yelled to stab it in the heart.  Gina did, her little wooden sword acted like a stake.  The vampire disappeared into dust before her eyes. 

 

Regina followed by Emma came rushing into the hall ready for a fight. They looked at Gina, where she stood with her sword in her hand and a pile of dust in front of her. 

“She killed a vampire,” Granny informed them while loading her crossbow again.  The fact that she protected people and killed the enemy did not surprise either Emma nor Regina, what surprised them was when they praised her, telling her how brave she was, she turned to them with an angry tearstained face.  “That,” she pointed to the dust. “Was a life, perhaps a dark life, but a life. There is no glory in killing anything.”  She stormed off and even after the sun came up, not even Regina could find her.  She and Emma could feel the child’s distress. It was this feeling that drew them to the hall in the first place the night before.  Trina felt it too and yelled to them to go. But none of them of them could locate her in the morning.  “The hollow of sorrow.”  Great Big Little Panther said in his deep voice.  A man that came with Hyde, Van Helsing, nodded to the Chief.  Van Helsing and Hyde were obvious enemies but living under Regina and Trina’s roof, they set aside their differences and fought their common enemy.  There was not a thing Van Helsing did not know about vampires. He even had good advice on killing other dark creatures.

 

He placed his hat on his head, and his dark brown eyes looked to everyone concerned.  “I will find her; I understand better than most what the hollow of sorrow is.”  He said the last words looking at Hyde.  Blue was looking nervous, clinging to her wand. “The hollow of sorrow?  That does not sound good, I have never heard of it, I am coming with you!” Van Helsing nodded to Hyde, and the big man took Regina by the shoulder. 

“Belief me Regina, if Gina is in the hollow of sorrow, you will be the last person, she would want close.  Van Helsing will bring her back.”  Regina and Emma looked at him with tears in their eyes. 

“I will go with him.”  Hook said.  Van Helsing looked him up and down. 

“You have been there?” 

“Aye Mate, all too often.”

 

“Any ideas?”  Van Helsing asked as soon as they entered the forest. “Aye.”  Hook set off in the direction towards the beach where there was a cove nearby.  That was where the two men found the child.  She cried herself out, but the anger due to her guilt has not disappeared. She had broken the wooden sword that Henry made her against one of the walls. She was stabbing herself with the broken object in the chest.  There was blood on her clothes and arms; her fists were a blooded mess. 

“Leave me alone!”  She yelled as she continued to slam the wood into her chest.  Hook did the only thing that he knew how to do in a situation like this.  He marched up to his daughter, grabbed and pulled her up with his hook by the red vest, so similar to his.  He slapped her through the face.  She stopped.  Hook could not tell if it was shock or something else.  He placed her down.  Hook went down on one knee to look his daughter in her eyes.  Van Helsing did the same thing. 

 

“What you are feeling is guilt Lass.  You took a life, you feel sorry about that, even though you know you did the right thing.” Hook tried to keep the emotion out of his voice. 

“Your father is right Gina.  That thing you killed was once a person, but the daemon had long since taken over the Soul.  It does not make it better, killing something or someone should never make you feel good, you should always keep this sorrow in yourself for taking a life. If you take the life of an animal, thank it and Gia or Artemis, for its spirit and that it will feed your family.”  Van Helsing stopped.

“What he is trying to say Gina is that killing is never a good feeling, and never should be, but if you kill someone or something to protect your family, the sacrifice is one that should be honored.”  Hook looked to Van Helsing, neither of them would mourn or thank the gods for the lost life of a vampire or any other beast, but they were talking to a three and a half-year-old about her first kill.  She needed to let go of the sorrow and guild – the hollow of sorrow.

 

Gina fell into his arms crying.  He rubbed her back while lifting her up.

“It is alright lass; it is alright to feel bad. But I am also proud of you for protecting your Kingdom.”  Killian felt relief when the little sobs slowed down. He and Van Helsing made their way back.  Gina was falling asleep in Hook’s arms.  When Emma and Regina came running towards them, Van Helsing held them back, explaining that she needed rest.  He made eye contact with Trina. She followed Hook unnoticed to the nursery.  She healed the wound of the child and dressed her in one of the oversized shirts that Gina liked to wear.  She looked from the sleeping child to Killian with a frown.  He smiled at her sadly. “So, I am not the only one that can feel it?”

“Killian…”

“Not to worry Lass, I have been feeling it for a while now.”  He said to ease Trina’s mind. But the feeling and the fact that he and Emma have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive another child made him wonder.  The problem was apparently not with Emma.  He just thought after Gina that something changed.  Doctor Whale had already told him in Storybrook that he was shooting blanks.  He knew Gina was his, he never suspected Emma of sleeping with someone else, but there was something different about Gina.  He needed to have a serious conversation with a particular Blue Moth.


	38. Darkness has a hunger that's insatiable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just because it is Friday. The Present Misthaven story timeline picks up from Chapter 35. F/F smutty sex

**Chapter 38**

 

**Misthaven twelve years ago**

 

While Van Helsing was calming down the women, explaining to them that the hollow of sorrow was a warrior term for guilt over killing someone. And since it was Gina’s first kill, she took it a little harder.  He also told them that Gina was a special child with a great destiny, that they should teach her everything.  Morals, life, and death fighting with every weapon possible and magic, most of all they needed to train her in magic.  Van Helsing glared at the Blue Fairy when Killian dragged her away unceremoniously.  “Please excuse me?”  He said and followed his new friend.

 

“What did you do Blue?”  Killian asked as he had the fairy pinned against the wall with his hooked hand.  “I would also like to know?”  Van Helsing came to stand next to Killian.

“That creature is too powerful to exist!”  Killian pressed harder. 

“Did you just call my daughter a creature?”

“Are you so sure she is your daughter?”  Killian was trying everything not to lose his temper.  He was glad for the company. He knew Van Helsing would stop him. “Tell me!”

Blue looked at him with all the anger she could muster.

“You know that you cannot have children! Emma cheated on you!”  Killian was starting to hurt her.  “What can possibly be so bad, that you will not tell me the truth?”

“Fine!”  Blue spat.  “You and Emma had sex the night before this big battle. Your sperm…”

“Yes Blue I know, my sperm is dead.”

“Well when everyone joined their forces to feed Emma with as much magic as possible, the impossible happened.  Regina and Trina’s magic woke up your sperm and with all the magic the new embryo was exposed to and absorbed, something was created!”

“Something?”  Killian was losing it, but Van Helsing did not stop him, Gina was a lot of things, but she was innocent and certainly not a creature or a thing, he has seen too many of those that he would know the difference.

 

“She has power?”  He asked quietly beside Killian.  Blue snorted.  “It is not just power.  Regina and Trina sparked Killian’s sperm with magic.  She was created both of this world and of magic.  The magic Dark and Light from the sisters. The magic behind the Queens was also Dark and Light. Gina is not only a magical creature, she is also human, made for the greatest potential, of either, Dark or Light.  One day the balance in her will swift.  I made sure that if it stayed hidden, especially from Fiona.”

 

Killian let her go.  “So the Regina’s inseminated my sperm with magic, making Emma pregnant at that moment.  Gina was blasted with magic because you were scared of which way the child would choose her path of destiny, you bounded her powers on her naming day?”  Van Helsing was trying to keep up.

“So Emma, Regina, and Trina are her mothers? And you are the father.”  He lifted his brow.  “That at least explain why she has Regina’s temper and not yours.  Killian looked at him, it kind of did not make sense at all, but it was an explanation.

 

The men never said anything, but the women took to heart what Van Helsing told them.  Regina and Trina started to teach her potions, spells, and magic.  Between Snow, Emma, Mulan, and Merida the taught her to fight.  In his quiet manner, Killian thought her right from wrong, telling her about his own bad decisions and where it took him and then how love changed him.  He read all of Henry's stories to her and told her whenever he could that good always wins.  That light will always give way to darkness.  The misfortune of Gina’s life was that the balance of Light and Dark could go one or the other way. When love and light broke the Blue Fairies bound, she was filled with light. Then she killed Fiona and became the Dark One.  The balance shifted the other way.  Gina only survived because of the blessings the other fairies gave her, that and her father’s lessons of life.

**Misthaven Present day**

 

Regina punched Blue so hard in the face that she could feel the fairy’s cheekbone crack under her hand. Blue’s first scream did not deter Regina. She kept on hitting.  Every hit felt harder, and with every blow, the fairy screamed more and longer.  There was some dark part of Regina that did not care.

“Regina!”  Emma’s voice brought her back to the moment.

“What is wrong with you?”  Emma questioned angrily.  Regina stepped back, Emma could see the old Regina there. The woman before the first curse was broken.

“What did she tell you?”  Regina could not speak, she could not breathe.  She wanted to split every part of Blue in two on a molecular level and hear her scream while she was doing it.  She sat down on the bench, trying to get her thoughts under control. 

 

“Call the Fairy Elders.” She managed to get out in a strained voice.

“No, no Emma, don’t call them, they will take my wings!”

“Oh Blue, they will do a lot more than that, I assure you.”  Regina bit at her again.  Emma called the fairies. Regina wiped her hand over them to pass on her memory of the conversation that took place.  Each one of the three fairies were shocked. They came and hovered around Regina. 

“We are so sorry Regina.”  The Red Fairy said.  “We will deal with this matter.” The Purple fairy assured her.  Regina just nodded, and as the three elders disappeared with Blue, Regina got up and walked away.   _What the hell?_   Emma thought and rushed after Regina.

 

Regina looked tired when she made her way back to Snow.  Snow has never seen the regal Queen look like this. Trina felt her pain, she and Maleficent appeared the moment Regina fell into Snow’s arms and started to weep.  Snow held her, after all, they have been through, her Stepmother had never sought any comfort from her daughter.  Yes, Snow and theirs were a complicated family, her grandson was her Step uncle, and her daughter’s new love was Snow’s Stepmother. Over many years they were enemies.  But Regina was always the strong one.  Snow needed her far more.  All Snow knew was that the conversation with Blue had to reveal something devastating, for her Stepmother to be this upset.

 

Emma was watching the scene before her.  _Why was Regina seeking comfort from Snow_?  She should be in her arms.  She should be the one comforting Regina.  Then she remembered.  Regina has lost so much too, Emma chose to join her family instead of standing by her side, helping each other through it.  Trina and Maleficent materialized in the great hall.  What Trina saw, shocked her, but she straightened herself and kneeled by Snow White to put a gentle hand on Regina’s shoulder.

“I am so sorry Regina.”  It made the dark woman sob more.  Emma was wondering if she should join them, but something told her that she was the last person Regina wanted comfort from.  Snow was whispering senseless comforts to her. When she looked up, she could see that Trina was crying too.  _What the hell happened?  What did Blue tell her and where was Blue_? Snow looked up to Emma for a moment to see if she had any answers, Emma just shook her head.

 

Another sob shook through Regina’s body, then she disappeared.  Trina pulled Snow up from the floor where she was sitting. 

“What happened?”  Trina looked at the floor; she did not think that it was her story to tell.

“Blue bounded Gina’s powers, out of fear that she would be influenced by Fiona.  She was born with magic, and she had the potential like Emma for either great Light or great Darkness. When Gina used light magic to defend us against Fiona, the balance shifted to Light, and a few moments later, it shifted to Dark when she became the Dark One.” Trina looked down.  “That is why Gina has such a struggle. She is constantly fighting the Darkness within her.”  Emma looked at Trina. “I was pregnant with her when the Black Fairy’s curse struck?  This is how she got her powers?”  Trina looked to Mal for moral support.  Mal just nodded for her to continue. 

“No Emma, Gina was created the day we all boosted you with the power to crush the Black Fairy’s army the first time.”  It took Emma and Snow a while to comprehend the information, to understand what Trina said.

“How much power does she have?”  Emma asked carefully, trying to avoid the question that is now plaguing her. “More than any Dark One before her.”  It was the only answer Trina could think of.

 

“Where did Regina go?”  For a moment, Trina wanted to attack Emma with words, that her concern for someone she is supposed to love only comes now.  “She is safe.”  She answered, holding back her anger. 

“She is at Daniel’s grave.”  Snow said.  It surprised Trina that Snow would know that.  Emma felt the shame wash over her.  She was so indulged in her pain that she did not consider her lover’s pain, and now it seemed almost worse. 

“Is Killian Gina’s father?”  Trina let out a sigh. “Yes, but, it seemed he needed a little boost, well his sperm did, and Regina and I provided that when we connected our magic to you.”  Emma just acknowledged the statement.  Henry was so right. She did not even know her own child or the hardship she had to go through to survive all these years.

 

“What do we do now?”  Emma asked her mother.  Regina chose that moment to return. 

“We find a way back. I do not care if you come with or stay, I am going back to get my daughter.”

“That might be more difficult than you have anticipated Queen Regina.”  The soft, yet deep old voice of Grand Pabbie came through the hall.  He was strolling, Jaden keeping to the small rock troll's pace.  Regina smiled at them. 

“Did you find another piece?”  Jaden nodded to her.  “The compass took us to the Rock trolls, and Grand Pabbie had the next piece.”  Regina got excited, Snow and Emma were not too sure what was going on. Then Emma remembered.  She took out the piece that Henry gave her, handing it to Grand Pabbie.  He placed the pieces together, and they connected with a silver glow. They all smiled, none of them knew what the complete coin would do, but all of a sudden they all had hope that somehow they would be able to get to Gina or get Gina back to them.

“Don’t get too excited,” Jaden spoke up.  Everything about her has changed.  She was wearing a similar dress to Elsa, but hers were shades of burned orange and red.  Like a Phoenix, Regina thought.  When she saw Jaden with her flaming powers, she knew where they came from.  It made her happy for both her friends. 

 

“What is the problem Princess?”  Regina asked in a voice far more huskier than usual.

“We followed the compass, it took us to the ocean, but it kept on changing direction.  We tried to follow it for days and then decided to come to port here.”  Regina nodded. “It's Ariel.”

“How do you know?”  Emma interrupted her.  “The Blue moth told me how our daughter came to life and what her powers are and where it came from. Ariel is the power of water, Grand Pabbie is Earth and Elsa is wind.  Which would most likely make Maleficent fire.”

Mal’s mouth hung open.  “Gina is an Elemental?”

“She is more than that,” Trina explained.  “She has the Saviors light, our powers, all of the Elemental powers and the power of the Dark One, she is one pumped up magical being, yet human.”

Snow with all her knowledge of magic and mysticism was still confused. 

“What exactly is an Elemental?”  Regina looked to the ground and took a deep breath.  “Elementals can usually control one of the Elements, as I explained, Gina was created by the magical infusion of all four elemental powers as a mortal at conception. Elementals all are marked for greatness. Gina’s primal forces that pulse through her veins saturate through her with great strength and power over the elements, but because of the Dark One’s power and Emma’s Light, she will always struggle between her conscience and power, her will and her Soul.  She is capable of great destruction, or great wonders.  These powers she has will be with her, always.  Even in the Realm of no magic, she will have all her powers, now that she is fully aware of them.”

 

Everyone in the hall understood the struggle the young girl would have. “Light thinks it travels faster than anything, but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first and is waiting for it.  There can only be light if there is darkness. It is the natural law of all things. For every action there an equal and opposite reaction.” Emma remembered the quotation that Gina gave her to explain certain things to her mother. 

 

Mal gave a big sigh.  “Well darkness has a hunger that's insatiable, and lightness has a call that's hard to hear.” Everyone turned their heads towards her. 

“What?” Trina asked. Maleficent rolled her eyes, “I like to listen to the Indigo Girls when I am too happy, they make me depressed and moody, the way I like it. They are one of the few things I miss of Storybrook.”  Her words shattered through everyone’s thought.  If Maleficent missed Storybrook, how many more were there?

Emma looked to Regina; she needed to talk to her, explain, anything. “Regina, can I come with you?  You know, to call Ariel.”  Regina nodded, and the two of them disappeared.

 

They walked in silence on the beach for a while. “I am sorry Regina.”  Regina wanted to give her a snort in answer, she wanted to kiss her, she wanted to choke Emma, she wanted to hold her until the end of time, but most of all she wanted to hate the Savior for everything that had happened.  When she did not answer, Emma tried again.

“Regina, I am so sorry that I did not support you, that I did not do this with you, that I wallowed in my self-pity and ignored your pain.”  Regina turned around and looked into the green eyes she has been missing so much. 

“Is that it?” Emma swallowed.  Regina was angry, and she did not exactly know why. 

“I am sorry this happened, to you, to Gina.”  Regina’s nature took over, without realizing it, two flaming balls sprung from her hands. 

 

“You shot her; you nearly killed her!”  She was shouting now.  “You knew what the price of this magic would be and you gave her the perfect opportunity to get the tears she needed.  Tears of sorrow because you shot her and I thought she was going to die!”  Regina did not realize that the flames in her hands were bigger and brighter than they have ever been, neither did she know that she was screaming at Emma or that the tears were gushing from her eyes.  Emma understood her pain, she felt it as well.  She felt the weight of guilt that Regina was placing on her, long before this conversation took place.  She knew that an apology would never make up for the hurt she had caused.  She looked at Regina, thinking that she is losing the last person in her life that meant anything to her.  Henry and Gina were already gone. 

 

“I know.”  She whispered softly and fell to her knees on the beach.

Regina stood there deflated, the fire and anger gone, her body shaking all over again with the pain inside of her that just seem to pile up with every passing day, as if she will never be happy again unless she had her family back,  safe, in Storybrook.

 

She fell on her knees in front of Emma and embraced her.  It was like a dam wall breaking for both of them. They cried in each other's arms, releasing all the pain, sorrow and regret that was there.  They clung to each other as if it was their last lifeline.  Emma found Regina’s mouth first. Her hunger for her lover evident in the demand of her tongue and the way she pulled Regina close to her.  _How long has it been_?  She thought for a moment. It felt like a lifetime ago when she last had this beautiful woman in her arms.  Regina met her plea with equal need.  There tears spreading over each other's cheeks while they continued to relinquish the bond between them that just a few hours ago seemed too wide and deep to ever reach each other again. Regina bit Emma hard between her neck and shoulder, and when she pulled slightly away, she whispered in her ear. 

“I want to fuck you senseless Miss Swan.”  With those words, Emma swiped them up in her white fog and they reappeared in her bedroom in the White Palace.  They both stripped each other's clothes away with a wave of their hands and when Regina took charge to make good on her promise Emma let her.

 

Their lovemaking was violent and urgent.  Regina filled Emma up with hunger, pleasure, and pain. She wanted Emma to feel her hurt as well as her love.  Her fingers stretched Emma so far and so deep that it felt like she would tear and yet she kept on begging for Regina to give her more, to go harder.  There were bites and scratches when Emma came, it was a firm deep growl from inside her chest.  Regina did not let up.  She needed her own release, she was going to take it from Emma, assertive as well.  She turned the blonde around and told her to kneel and lift her ass. Regina settled over her, tribbling her ass while pushing her fingers deep into Emma’s wetness. She controlled the speed and the friction against Emma’s ass.  Rubbing in rhythm with her own, she felt Emma going stiff with another orgasm and then grabbed her breast, handling them roughly, pinching her nipples and lavished in Emma’s cries of pleasure and pain.  When she felt herself reaching the pinnacle point, she held Emma by her waist and thrust into her more until the welcome release swept through her and to stop herself from screaming Emma’s name at the top of her lungs, she bit hard into Emma’s shoulder to smother her release.

 

Regina rolled off her and Emma fell to her side, both breathing hard.  Emma wondered if she would be able to walk in the morning.  She also wondered if all the damage was repaired.  “Was that angry makeup sex?”

Regina half giggled.  “I would guess so dear.”  She turned on her side to look at Emma.

“I love you very much Emma, but I am going back.  It will be your choice to come with me or not. I will not pressure you. I just need you to know; I am going back to find Gina.”  Emma nodded and swept a stray lock of hair behind Regina’s ear. “Are you Gina’s father?”

They both had a perplexed look on their faces. “No,” Regina said carefully. 

“I do believe that Killian is her father, but Trina and I helped to make that possible, so somehow, we are also part of Gina.  Does that make sense?”  Emma nodded. 

“That at least explain her temper. She definitely got that from you.”  They both laughed, and for the first time in what felt like forever, they kissed gently. Started to make long slow love to each other.

 

“How long does it take to call a Mermaid?”  Jaden asked irritated, licks of flames emanating from her. Trina cleared her voice and looked at Snow.  “They are kind of making up, you know…” Snow turned her head and frowned, ready to ask Trina to explain.  “Oh!”  She said.  “Well, why don’t we start supper so long?”

 

Emma and Regina took a midnight stroll on the beach, hand in hand, barefoot in light dresses, their hair blowing behind them, making them a vision for anyone who would look, but they were alone, both felt a renewed love for each other.  They walked until Regina found the shell they were looking for.  She whispered in it, calling Ariel.  She and Emma stood in each other’s arms when they heard a splash in the waves. They looked to the open sea, watching as Ariel walked over to them.  She had a smile on her face. 

“Please tell me you have found a way to go back?”  Emma and Regina approached her and took her into an embrace, Regina stood a step back and asked curiously.

“You want to go back?”

“Don’t get me wrong, it is great to be in Atlantica again, but Daddy is still trying to get me to marry, and at this point, any merman will do for him. I want just to be me. I cannot do that here.”  They both understood. 

“Ariel, we need something from you?” She looked at Regina. It was so unlike the Queen to ask for favors. 

“Sure, what do you need?”  For a moment she wanted to ask Ariel to swim to Boston to see if she could find Gina, but she knew that that land was far too dangerous for a mermaid. 

“Gina might have left something with you.”  Emma showed her the coin that only consisted of two pieces. 

“Have you seen anything like this?”  Ariel took the coin from Emma and looked it over.

“I have not seen anything like this, but if she did leave a piece with me, it would be at our home on Hangman’s Island.”  Regina thought of Boston again, if only it were the same island.

“Could you please have a look?”  Emma asked in earnest. 

“Of course, if there is a way back to Storybrook, I will always help.”  Ariel gave Regina the shell she used and took one for herself, I will call you as soon as I have something.”  Regina squeezed her shoulder in appreciation.

 

When they were alone, Emma looked at the coin in her hand. 

“We spent two years together, and I never knew she had a lucky coin.”  Regina found a place to sit. 

“Emma, you have your memories now, but the truth is there is a lot of Gina that you do not know.  You were fighting a war for all of us. I was the one that spent time with her.”  Regina sighed.  She always knew how Gina felt about her mother. 

“Do you remember the last thing she said to you?”  Emma nodded and came to sit next to her lover. 

“She forgave me.  I still am not too sure about what.”  Regina looked up at the sky. The tears were already welling up in her eyes; she hated to be the one to tell Emma this. 

“She forgave you for never being a mother.”  Emma looked at Regina in shock and then the words slowly settled in her mind.  It was always Hook and Regina that took her daughter out.  The only real time she spent with Gina was when they were training, and without knowing how powerful she was, even with her powers bounded, Gina learned so fast that she soon did not need Emma or Snow to teach her with swords or knives.  So Emma started training other recruits. 

 

That was where Neal and Henry became so vital to her.  They were the only ones that would dual with Gina. Her skill and quickness soon outweighed their skills, but they never stopped training with her, neither did Mulan, Merida or Regina.  The tears were slowly starting to flow.  She remembered that look in Gina’s eyes when she got her memories back in Storybrook.  When she asked Emma if Emma thought Gina actually cared.  The look had so much anger and hatred, she never understood.  She never questioned the almost instant bond of love there was between Gina and Regina, she wondered a few times why she could not establish the same bond with the teen, now she had her answer.  Which brought on another question.  _If they could go back, would Gina even want her in her life_?   Her hand automatically went to the Celtic knot around her neck.  It was still there, one of the few things that came over with them to the Enchanted Forest.  Gina gave it to her.  She called her mom. She told her that if she ever wondered, that Gina did forgive her a long time ago.  Emma really thought that it would not have been that long ago.  She felt the young girl’s anger towards her more than once while they were living together in Storybrook.  She failed her daughter so many times in so many ways.  She felt Regina pulling her into a warm embrace.  She cried for what seemed like hours.  They sat together on the beach, watching the sun come up.

 

**Boston**

 

For a moment Gina felt peace.  Just a moment and then it was gone.  It felt like Emma was talking to her, tell her that they are coming to get her.  But Gina knew, even if they figured that there was a backdoor left for them to get back to Storybrook, all magic comes with a price and she was sure that no one would be willing to pay up.  She cut another sharp slice into her leg.  It did not matter anymore. No matter how many cuts she made or how drunk she got, she was alone. The feeling of utter hopelessness and pain was no longer leaving her.


	39. With Gina, nothing was ever simple

**Chapter 39**

 

Ariel was back with the other part of the coin by midday.  She called Regina, the Queen and Princess appeared on the beach after little sleep that morning.  They both looked very drained.  “Got it!”  Ariel said in her enthusiastic manner; it only evoked a small smile from both women.  Regina took the piece, with the same silver light, it attached itself to the others.  She could clearly see that there were more than four pieces missing.  Her mind started to work again.  Four elements, what more can there be and who would represent it?

 

Regina gave Ariel the compass. 

“Oh, you don’t need to give me something…”  The compass came to life spinning in all directions until it came to a stop, pointing in a North-East direction. 

“What is in that direction?”  Emma asked. 

“The Forbidden Fortress,” Regina answered and called to Trina to bring Maleficent to her castle.  They held Ariel’s hands and disappeared in a blur of red and white.

 

Mal looked around, she thought she would miss this place of solitude, but life with Lily and Trina changed all of that in Storybrook. She felt part of something for a change.  The compass led them to Maleficent’s old staff.  It did not surprise any of them, she looked at it and found the other piece easily.  She gave the piece to Emma, who attached it to the others.  It was clear now.  There were at least another four pieces missing. 

“What now?” She asked her voice echoing in the dark depths of her own home.  It was eerie. She much rather return with Trina to their Palace.  Emma gave Maleficent the compass on her question, the same as before, it spun in various directions when it stopped.  Regina sighed.  “Is it that bad?”  Emma asked. “Well, some parts of the White Palace is not  _that_  bad.”  She said in an annoyed tone.  Emma smiled.  “Well I guess we go back, Ariel thank you for your help, we will let you know as soon as we have an answer.  Ariel smiled back and set off for the nearest water.

 

Maleficent, Trina, Emma, and Regina appeared in the great hall.  Jaden was the only one waiting for them.  The flames surrounding her seemed to work like most magic, with emotions, the more frustrated she got, the higher the flames around her burned.

“Did you get it?”  She ran towards Emma. 

“Two more pieces,” Emma said, she watched how all the fire extinguished itself from the young girl.  Mal held the compass again, but nothing happened. The five women looked at each other. They were all thinking the same thing.  One of them had the next piece.  For Maleficent the choice was obvious.  She gave the compass to Jaden. The compass stood still in her hand, she felt at a loss.

“Alright,” Regina spoke up.  “So it is not love, not now anyway.”  Jaden looked at her oddly. “If we are going into emotions, love would be the last piece,” Regina explained.  Jaden felt the relief wash over her.  “We should all get a bit of rest. We will talk tomorrow,” Emma said.  She was exhausted, and she wanted to go to sleep in Regina’s arms.

 

Regina nodded.  “We can perhaps think what the next piece might be and who would have it?” Jaden was not happy. 

“What do you mean?” Regina felt more for the girl than what she would indicate.  Not having Emma close to her was worse than losing, Robin or Daniel. 

“Jaden it could be anything, love, hate, anger, joy…” She wanted to carry on.  “No, it would be something more,” Jaden said. 

“Her emotions consisted of anger, hate, and disgust.” 

“Well, there you have it!” Trina said, she pointed to Regina, herself and then Emma. “Anger, hate and disgust.” Emma half laughed.  “That would make sense, your order would be correct, except that she was never angry with Regina.”

“What about Neal, she was angry with Neal,” Jaden asked in desperation.  Regina inhaled.  “This is why I suggested we think about it and meet up in the morning?”

Trina and Mal disappeared in a whirl of purple as an answer and Jaden walked off, flames bursting out of her.

************

 

Regina was lying in bed, even after Emma pushed her over the limit more than once and her body was relaxed, she could not sleep.  Her mind kept on mulling on the keys of Gina’s coin.  She thought about the way they were positioned, emotions every and anything that came in four, wind directions, four fundamental forces, gravitation, Electromagnetism, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force.  The four horsemen, War, Slaughter, Famine, and Death.  Her mind carried on and on. It all came back as obscure.  She thought over and over on how they were positioned.  Perhaps the forth part was for Killian, or Neal or Henry.  Her mind started to wonder to Neal. He was here as well in the White Palace.  So were many other people.  No, she would choose people that had meaning in her life, which would leave her, Emma, Jaden, Henry, and Neal.  One of them must have the answer to the question. 

 

The five women argued about the matter for days, until Jaden just took the compass and asked everyone in the castle to hold it.  There was no response, they consulted Neal and Henry, neither could think who or what the next piece will represent.  Henry also reported in that he could not find Gina anywhere in the States.  She was not registered for a job or a school.  He promised to keep looking. Henry was focusing on big cities, places that Gina had been before.  He promised to check in regularly. He would come back as soon as he found anything.

 

Regina was tired. She was lying in bed waiting for Emma to come and sleep.  When Emma arrived naked, Regina knew that she did not have sleep in mind. Emma stretched her body over the dark-haired woman and peppered kisses from her neck down to her very sensitive navel and up again.  Her thigh lightly scraped over Regina’s need, she pulled up, arching her back.  She always did feel better when Emma played top.  Emma was kissing her skin all over when she came to Regina’s lips, she whispered,  “I love you with my body mind and Soul.”  She bent down to kiss Regina once more, but she had the strangest look on her face. 

 

“That’s it! She said as she jumped out of bed, she was looking for something to ware. “What?”  Emma asked as Regina threw her a shirt. 

“Body Mind and Soul, which is what we represent. The compass pointed here, for you!  You need to get up and start looking. 

“Regina, we have done this before.  There is nothing in this room.”

Regina turned to her, “That is because we did not know what to look for Miss Swan!”  Emma slammed down on the bed again.  “Ugh, are we back to that?” 

“Well start acting like Emma, and we can talk again.”

 

Emma got dressed and followed Regina in the White Palace. 

“Can this not wait until morning, when we can actually see?”  Emma asked behind her.  Regina turned all of a sudden, “In case you have forgotten, let me remind you again.  Time is different here.  Remember when Snow cast the curse to take us all back and Zelena wiped our memories?”  Emma thought about it. 

“Henry and I were in New York for over a year and here only nine months have passed.”

“Exactly, the difference is small, but for every week we waste, Gina is alone, longer than what she needs to be.” Emma let out a breath.  “Alright, which part am I?”

“I would guess Soul?”  Regina said.  Emma thought about it, “No, you will be Soul, you are more important to her than what I am.”  The words were soft and sad. 

“So at least we agree that Trina is mind.” Regina thought about it.  Elsa’s part was in a book that had meaning to her. It was a book that she read to Jaden.  Grand Pabbie found his piece between a health growing moss on his arm and Mal and Ariel were their homes, also special places. 

 

“What is the most special place or moment you shared with Gina?”  She asked Emma.

The blonde smiled, there were a few special moments, but her naming day was still the best.  She remembered sitting in the rocking chair feeding the baby, whispering her name to her, waiting for Regina and the moment the woman appeared in front of her door, she felt it, their love.  Their love for each other and the small baby suckling on her.  She remembered Regina coming in. Her face had an expression of utter joy like she would never tire of the sight of mother and child.  It was the one place in the palace Emma had not gone to since they returned to Misthaven.  She walked there slowly to the nursery adjacent to her and Hooks’ room. She could not go in there either.

 

When Regina realized where they were heading, she lit another torch and gave Emma the one she was carrying. 

“You are not coming in?”  She asked while her back was still to Regina.  She knew it would be painful for both of them. 

“I think Emma that this is only for you. You are her mother.”  Emma entered the room quietly, but there, on the rocking chair by the window, she could already see it, the silver shimmer of a coin piece.  She picked it up and held it to her heart, curled up in the rocking chair and cried.  She cried for a room that was nearly destroyed by the time the war was ending.  She was crying for all the baby things that should have been replaced with a toddler and then young lady things.  She cried for Gina’s pain and the years they missed.  When Regina had built enough courage to follow Emma in, she felt the same loss and emptiness.

“Come Emma.”  She held out her hand.  Her voice was raw with emotion.  When they stood outside in the hallway, Regina held the woman she loved so much until Emma nodded in her neck that she was alright.

 

“Have you found your moment?”  Emma asked, wiping the tears.  “Perhaps,” Regina answered huskily.  Regina had more memories to sort through.  The day Gina was born, her naming day, the day they planted an apple tree for Gina, the same as Regina’s father did for her, but her most memorable day was a few flights down. She lead Emma to the room not far from the war room where Regina and Trina, with Maleficent’s help sometimes, taught Gina potions and spells.  She was about five years old when the little warrior got it into her mind to make her own potion.  She understood the basics of magic and war, she decided to combine the two, the week before Mulan taught her how to make black powder.  So Gina made what would pass today as a hand grenade. An extraordinary one.  She still did not want to kill, after the vampire, so the grenade was filled with the deadly black powder, and a combination of fairy dust and a love potion.  When Fiona’s army approached that night, Gina used a fuse and shot the ball with its ingredients into the air and when it exploded it was epic. The fireworks startled the ogres who started to run in all directions. The love potion and fairy dust were doing its magic though.  Fiona’s army turned into one big orgy for the night.  Gina had shot off three balls, buy the time Regina realized where the shots were emanating from.  There stood her pupal with the biggest smile Regina had ever seen.  She pointed in the direction.  “See Queen Reg, I made a potion, all the ogres have run away!”  Her face was smeared with gunpowder and Regina was sure she burned half her hair off in the process of lighting the fuses.  She had never been as proud of her little charge or as angry.  She laughed at the memory now.

 

They entered the potion room, and there still on one of the shelves was the remainder of Gina’s first self-made potion.  She opened the cork, as soon as she let out a bit of the sand in it there, her piece of the coin was.  She tried to keep the tears away as she placed the sand back in the bottle.  She touched it as if it was a precious piece of art, for that day, yes it was the perfect piece of magical art, Regina had ever seen.  Emma watched her the entire time.  When she lifted up the bottle, she too remembered that day.  The very innocent potion left Fiona’s army out of commission for three days. No one ever knew that so much love could leave an army paralyzed.  But then again, Regina had worked her over a few times that she could hardly walk the next day.  She now smiled at the memory, at the time there were very few adults that saw the funny in it until they could sleep for a day without being attacked.  

They looked at each other. “Do you think she picked these memories because that was when she felt loved?”  Emma’s voice was small. 

“Yes Emma, I think so.” They held each other for a while, then Regina’s body shuddered.  “What is it?” 

“I just wondered what her memory of Trina would be?”  Emma looked at her shocked.

“Yes, I suppose it will be much different from what we shared with her.”

 

Early the next morning they entered the Dark Palace.  Every manner of critter and friend that was held up there came to meet Emma to say hello or mostly to ask when they will get back and how.  When Emma acknowledged that they are working on a plan, the excitement moved through the palace like a tidal wave.  Granny was one of the first to make her way over to the Queen and Princess and in her no-nonsense manner asked: “Are you sure you have a plan?  Red is having nightmares about Peter, and there are several children that are sick, Victor and I are doing what we can, but this is not Storybrook General.”

Emma placed her hand reassuring on Granny, “We do have a plan, in fact, that is why we are here, but we have no idea when it will happen.  Granny gave a crude nod and wandered off.  They could find every one, except the other hostess.  “Ugh, gods forbid!”  Regina said with her eyes closed and her hand covering her face.  She connected with Trina for a second and regretted it instantly.  Emma looked at her worried. “They are otherwise occupied,” Regina said with a voice that sounded like she wanted the earth to swallow her.

“Alright then?” Emma said, giving Regina an approving up and down look, taking in her beautiful blush. 

“Don’t you start!”  Regina warned.  They never finished what they started the night before. Her body was yearning for Emma’s touch.  They heard a strange noise and looked at each other.  Granny came down to give them something to eat. 

“They drink all day and then this all night. Every time Robin is out hunting. They are worse than Victor!”  She said disapproving.

 

As Emma and Regina finished their breakfast, Maleficent and Trina made their way down the steps. Meeting the Savior and her sister. 

“What a pleasant surprise she said to Regina, as she leaned in to give her sister a kiss on the cheek, she asked softly, “Learned anything new?”  Regina’s blush was back, Trina enjoyed her sisters’ embarrassment immensely.  “So what brings you here so early?”

 

They placed the pieces of the coin they both discovered the night before in front of Trina.  “And here I thought you kept yourself busy with more… intricate things?” This time Emma blushed, she cleared her throat.  “We figured out that it is body, mind, and Soul, with Jaden having love.”  Trina nodded, she missed Gina and her occasional visits.  She ensured that not everything in Storybrook remained dull. She had a seriousness about her for a moment. Mal touched her hand under the table.  “I miss her too.”  She said in her quiet way.

 

“How did you find the pieces?”

“Memories, special memories that were important for us. Mine was the night she blasted those love grenades on Fiona’s army.”  Mal and Cat burst out laughing.  It was one of the funniest things they had ever experienced, and they were of the few adults that saw the ingenuity and amusement of that night. 

“Well once she could walk, she sure kept us all busy, one way or the other.”  Trina’s mood sunk at her own words.  She thought for a while then got up.  Emma and Regina wanted to follow, but Mal stopped them.

“She is actually far more emotional than one would think about her daughter.”  It was the first time anyone spoke of Gina as Trina’s daughter. After the shock in Emma and Regina died down, they both had questions.  Emma asked first. 

“If we find a way, will you come with us to Storybrook?” Maleficent stayed quiet.  For all of them, it was a much larger issue than what most folks thought.  Being a Dragon, without the ability to fly and hunt, left a hole in both her and Lilly that was unbearable.  It would be a big decision if they did go back.

“Let’s first see if you can assemble the coin, no reason to get hopes up too soon, as you know, all magic comes with a price.  I am sure that Gina’s coin will be no different, accepting that whatever this spell is, it was made of both Light and Dark magic. It would have taken a lot of skill and preparation.”  They both looked grim after listening to Maleficent.

 

Trina was in the vault.  She and Mal were busy cooking up something.  Being in the Enchanted Forest, they had access to some weird and wonderful ingredients, and they could not wait to try out the new batch.  She walked over to the cellar they kept there and took out a bottle of Damn-hot-shit.  It made her smile, the moment she turned the bottle, her part of the coin was there.  She held the bottle for a long time, tears in her eyes as the memory of her and Mal giving an almost-six-year-old Gina her first taste of alcohol.  The kid’s face turned and twisted into something obscene as the warm liquid filled her up, Trina was sure she was about to announce that it was the most awful stuff she had ever tasted when the liquid hit her senses.

“Damn, this is hot shit! She announced and so Gina tasted and named her first of many batches for Trina and Maleficent.  Perhaps, not the most parental thing to do, but it was a place where they started a tradition, a relationship, which thankfully continued once Gina had her memories back.  It was simply the only thing they shared when Trina looked at Lilith and Maleficent now that she knew the truth, she wanted more memories with Gina.

 

She wiped her tears before she returned to the waiting trio.  Mal looked at her. She could see the pain.  Mal looked at her, she saw the bottle in her hand and smiled.  “The damn-hot-shit?” She asked her lover.  Trina only nodded. Mal understood.

“Damn-hot-shit?”  Emma asked.  Trina plonked the bottle down between the four of them. 

“Mind your own business Savior, as Gina says, what my mothers do not know, cannot hurt me.  It was awful how you punished her when she got wasted.”  Regina had a smile and Emma opened her mouth to protest, but Regina placed her hand gently on Emma’s arm. 

“Now is not the time dear.”  Emma sat back.  They were still both taken aback that Gina managed to hide something from them, especially in Storybrook.

 

Trina waved her hand, four double shot glasses appeared.  She poured each of them a glass despite the hour.  She held up her glass. 

“To Gina and her amazing ability to name things!”  Mal almost choked on her drink. It was only Trina that would come  _up with a toast like that.  Regina, knowing her sister, took a sip of the drink.  Emma had_ no idea what she was in for.  She swallowed all of it.  She pulled a face, not unlike Gina at the time. Placed the empty glass on the table.  Once she swallowed, she said:  “Damn this shit is hot!”  The laughter of the other three women filled the hall, and they got more than one curious glance their way.  She held out her glass for a refill, drinking it slowly this time.  Trina placed her piece of the coin on the table. Regina looked at it, “Well let’s see.”  She placed her piece, nothing happened.  “It obviously should be in sequence.  I supposed Emma would be body?” Trina said.  Emma placed her piece, and it fused with the others in a silver light.  She drank the rest of her glass in one shot.   _Was that all she was to Gina? The woman that gave birth to her?_ It left her utterly depressed.  Trina placed her piece, and it fitted mind.  Regina swallowed, she felt Emma’s sadness, her piece filled the last space, leaving only a perfect hole in the middle where Jaden’s love would go.  They looked at the nearly complete coin. Something told Maleficent that this was all too easy.  Gina was trained by three of them in the art of magic, and she was also the Dark One with hundreds of years of knowledge.   _No, she thought, with the cost of this magic, there will be more_.

***********

 

Snow looked at all four woman as they materialized into the White Hall.  They were holding each other up, clearly drunk before midday.  And they had the giggles.  Snow could not conceive anything scarier than the four most powerful woman in the Realm, pissed off their feet, having the giggles. 

“Hey Snow, do you remember when Gina started making her own potions, and she released that booby trap of itching powder on Fiona’s army!”  Regina’s voice was high, at the mention of it, all four broke down in laughter again.  It was good to hear laughter, and the memory brought a smile to Snow’s face.   _So they were reminiscing about Gina.  No wonder they were all so drunk in the morning_.  They all missed Gina in their own way. Snow, however, had her own worries and fears, yes she wanted to see her grandchild and make up for lost time and spoil her, but, she also had a Kingdom to think off.  The closer they got to complete the coin, the harder it was for Snow to deal with things.  She had no idea what her choice would be.

“Jaden!”  Emma called too loud and slapped her hand over her mouth.

“You’re going to be in trouble with your mom!”  Regina shooed her, but it was more spit than a shoo.  Jaden, however, was close enough to hear her.  She came to stand next to Snow, not too sure about the state of the woman.

“Queen Snow?”  She asked unsurely.  “I think they reminisced and got drunk, but I also think they figured out the coin and now they need your part.”

“But I have looked, I don’t know where it could be?”  Jaden said close to tears.

“Just talk to them, like you would to a four-year-old.”  Snow added and pushed Jaden into the direction of the sorry looking bunch.

 

Emma placed an arm around the young Princess. “Jaden, you are going to have a shitty time.”  The Princess looked shocked, then Regina giggled. “Yes, you are going to have three mothers in law and an overprotective brother, not to even mention the dwarfs!”

All giggles again, Jaden turned to Snow for support.

“Enough!”  Snow’s firm voice travelled through the hall.  Regina bumped Emma in the ribs.

“Told you we are going to get into trouble with your mother!”  They all faked straight faces, but the occasional giggle would erupt now and then while Snow looked at them with scrutiny. 

“This is the example you set for everyone?”

“Chill out mom! We are just hanging!”  Snow looked at her daughter in shock and Jaden still tried to wrap her mind around the fact that Emma and Snow were mother and daughter but the same age.  Snow took the bottle that Trina was trying to hide from her.  She looked at the label.  “Braindead?” Jaden lifted her brow the same way Elsa would.  “Sounds about right.”  She said to the queen next to her.

 

“Alright!”  Snow said, with an apologetic look to Jaden.  “I think it is time to get you all into bed.”

“Eewe!”  Emma erupted, “We are not like that! And don’t put me to bed with the wrong Regina.”  For a moment Emma’s mind tried to work through what she said, it made no sense to her, but she left with the guard's Snow called to take them all to their rooms.  Before they all left, Regina placed the coin and the compass into Jaden’s hand. 

“I think she loves you.” 

“Who?”  Jaden asked.  Regina looked confused and pulled away from the soldier that was keeping her upright.

“Gina of course, or do you already have another girlfriend?”  Jaden smiled, “No Queen Regina, there is only Gina.”  Regina looked back at her as she was being dragged away.  “Good, good!”

 

“Hold on a little longer my love,” Jaden whispered as she looked at the coin and the compass.  The compass did not move in her hand. She could not think of anything she had that was the size of a small round coin to fit in the middle of the much larger double Dragon coin.  Snow came to stand by her. 

“If they could figure it out, so can you Princess.”  Snow left her with those words.

 

Love.  Jaden knew that her part was love.  But they fell in love in Storybrook, where will she find her moment of love here.  She place the compass back around her neck, she felt an emptiness without the chain hanging there.  She realized that somewhere during that fateful night, Gina swapped their chains.  She was sure that Gina was now wearing a snowflake and she was wearing the compass that Gina’s father gave to her on her sixth birthday a few months before Gina killed Fiona and all of their fates changed.  She thought about the little baby she saw for the first time on her naming day.  Then it struck her.  As was the custom, she gave Gina a gift.  One Princess to another. _How could she be so dumb_?  She rushed to the room that she knew was Gina’s nursery. She also knew it was untouched.  She gave her a gift from Ardendale, her first pair of Ice skates.  When she found the room, she looked everywhere.  Then she stopped.  Gina kept her hockey stick with her skates, she looked around and saw what would pass for a hockey stick resting in the corner of the room behind a trunk.  She opened the trunk and smiled through her tears.  It was such a typical Gina thing.  All her precious items in one trunk.  Her second wooden sword that Henry remade for her.  Her first metal sword, her first knife her first drawings, her first potion, and there in the corner, her first skates.  Jaden found the missing piece and placed it excitedly in the middle of the coin. The silver fuse took place but nothing more.  Jaden turned the coin around.  “Come on G!”  She yelled in frustration.  She should have known, with Gina, nothing was ever simple.


	40. Saying goodbye

**Chapter 40**

**Misthaven Present day**

 

Two weeks. Emma sat with the coin in her hand for the last two weeks now. Whatever the coin was supposed to do, it was not doing it. Perhaps it was a case of the coin just did not do what they all wanted it to do, or perhaps it was the fact that none of them were yet prepared to do it. Word was sent out that there might be a way to get back to Storybrook and the Realms should start thinking about it. Then the problems came. What if no one wanted to leave, what would happen if only certain members leave? At Snow White’s council meeting Frederik dared to suggest that only magical creatures should go to a land where they could cause no harm. Regina turned him into a Chupacabra.

“Very well I agree with Prince Frederik.” Abigale jumped up.

“What did you do?” Regina smirked while one of her leather-clad legs was bouncing up and down on her knee. She was starting to act more and more like Trina by the day, or perhaps she sent Trina to this meeting today, with the two of them, one could never tell. “Just keep him away from goats dear, then everything should be alright.” She gave one of her dashing evil smiles. “Regina!” It was a low rumble that came out of Snow’s chest. Regina rolled her eyes, and with an irritating flick of the fingers, the Prince turned back.

 

That was how two weeks passed, and none of them had a clue to the secret of the coin or even if there was one. Emma and Regina could feel magic surrounding the coin, but all manner in which to get to it has failed so far. They spin the coin, tossed it, placed it within the four elements, they paced it in the middle, and everyone that had a piece was holding hands, they expected a portal to open. When they asked Neal, he shrugged and said, “Fire is her thing.”

“Fire is her thing?” Fire is her thing? Gods, what is that even supposed to mean?” Emma yelled after her brother.

Regina found her after  _the meeting_ , laying on her crossed arms on a table looking at the coin which was perfectly balanced on its side. She had a tear that just sat there on her cheek. Regina wiped it and came to sit next to her, without disturbing the coin. “What are you thinking?”

“That if I were a better mother, I would have figured it out by now.” Regina gave a little laugh. “With Gina, there was always a surprise somewhere. Like how she does not use blood magic.” They tried that too. “Yeah I know, fire is her thing.”

“So all we need to figure out is whose fire?” Regina encouraged. Emma answered non-committed. “It would be Lilly or Mal, she did not know about Jaden and her powers, and since she got her firepower from Mal, I would go with her.”

“See!” Regina encouraged and placed a hand on Emma’s back. “Deductive reasoning.” Then she thought about it. Sometimes Gina did not need any reason. Sometimes it was as simple as spinning a coin. She called Mal and Trina.

 

“Still sitting with the puzzle dear?” Trina asked, to Regina’s relief, almost sober, well not drunk anyway. “Mal, can you toss it and blow fire onto it?” Maleficent looked at Regina as if she was an idiot. She did not answer. “Ugh!” Regina realized her mistake. “As a human, you can flip but not blast flames, and as a Dragon, you can blast flames but not flip.” Maleficent sat down with the same annoyed look.

“Henry” Emma yelled all of a sudden. They had to wait a while before the Authors door opened. “What, I am in the middle of an exam!” They have been bouncing theories off him and Neal all the time since, despite everything, they seemed to know her the best. Henry sighed. He stepped back into the door. “Let Mal try and spin it left handed, anti-clockwise. Gina always spin it that way. The door closed. “Well, that would have been helpful.” Emma said and then added with a yell, “A week ago!”

She gave the coin to Maleficent with no hope at all that this time it would be any different than before. Mal sighed, took the coin and did what Henry suggested. The coin started to spin faster and faster instead of slowing down. Emma looked to the nearest guard, “Call the Queen!” The coin continued to spin until a little vortex opened. It was a magical hologram. For the first time in almost six months, Emma and Regina saw their daughters face. They held each other as they cried. The face in the Mirage had the same worried look as always. The message started:

_Moms, if you are wondering, I have no idea how I am or how long we have been apart. I recorded this and made it part of the spell to restore Misthaven and the other Realms. If you are receiving this message, I know that my family is still together. It would be the only way you would have figured this out, together. This coin would serve as a backdoor for anyone that would like to return to Storybrook, but like all magic, it has a limit, and it will demand a price._

_Anyone from any Realm would be able to enter through a portal. With every citizen that moves through, their homes and lands would be returned to them the way Emma created the last Storybrook, along with their memories of Storybrook, but not the Realm they came from. As citizens from other Realms join, those Realms would be recreated as Storybrook suburbs, like before. The once that choose to stay will stay and do whatever goes on in Fairyland these days. Magical folk will have a choice, however, and this is where the price comes in. As you most likely figured out by now, it was not the Black Fairy’s curse, but my moment of conception that gave me my power. I recreated the Realms with this power and to return. The price must be paid._

 

_Anyone with magic can choose to either keep their magic or keep their memories. You cannot have both._

 

_Enough for now, in precisely a week’s time, ask Maleficent to spin the coin again. Then I will tell you how to open the portal._

 

Queen Snow only caught the last bit of the message.

“Play it again?” She demanded. Emma shook her head. “We can’t.” Snow placed her hands on her hips. “Well, what did she say?” As Emma related the message to Snow, Regina was in discussion with herself.

“Clever to make us choose,” Regina said. “Yes, she has read and seen too many times where magic destroys or where father or mothers choose their magic over their children.” Trina agreed. They looked at Mal, and she was in deep thought. If she chose her memories, she would have Lily, but also the pain of losing her. If she chose to give up her magic, she would never be a Dragon again. For her, and she was sure for others, the decision would not be an easy one. She left her friends and jumped out of the first window she could find. She soared over the forest, her giant wings gusting, she was sure that Gina would have enjoyed the sight. She called Lily, and together they danced through the sky as only Dragons could.

 

Jefferson was kept busy for the next few days. Messages to and from the White Kingdom to other Realms and Kingdoms. Some messages did not surprise her at all. Thomas and Ella, Phillip and Aurora and Frederik and Abigale chose to stay. So did Frederic and Arianna. With every message that came in, Snow wept. She wanted to go with Emma, Charming wanted to stay, and with every King and Queen choosing to stay for their people, Snow started to feel more and more obligated,  it was her duty to stay with her people. She cried herself to sleep, every time Charming asked, she only said that she had to say goodbye to another friend that day.

 

Emma did discuss her choice with her mother. Her children were there, Regina was going back, for her there were no options. To add to Snow’s sadness, Neal informed her that he would be going back as well. It nearly broke Snow’s heart. She and Elsa met with each other at the hatter's gateways one afternoon. Elsa seemed to be the only one to understand, her daughter already moved to the castle, a few days before Gina’s next message. They cried together. How does one choose between a Kingdom and a child? Snow had done it before. She was not willing to do it again. Elsa also wanted to go with Jaden. She understood the love she had for Gina, she did not doubt it for a second. She wanted to share in all the joy of Jaden. Regina and Emma had already promised her that they would take Jaden in and look after her, the same with Neal.

 

The night before the new message, hardly anyone in the Kingdoms or Realms slept. It was as if a lot of people wanted to do something, for one last time. In Ardendale they asked the Queen to freeze over a lake, everyone was skating deep into the night. The Realm of Untold stories was a bit different. They were all packing; people get tired of unresolved issues. In Corona, they lit their lanterns, even though it was not Rapunzel’s birthday and they now knew where their lost Princess was.

Snow watched over the Kingdom that she fought so hard for. It would mean little if they could not share it with the ones they loved or pass it on when the time came to the rightful heir. Emma knew much about leadership and Snow was sure her daughter would become a strong and amazing Queen, as would Prince Neal, but too much of their lives were spent in the other Realm and without Gina, Neal seemed lost. So she cried herself to sleep yet again. Charming was holding her. “Do you want to go Snow?” She turned around in his arms and nodded with a tearstained face. He kissed her. “Then we will make a plan, we always do, and we always find each other.” She wanted to believe him, she wanted it so much, but she knew that yet again, her duty would come first.

 

All Snow could see, was a sea of faces. Regina reported the same thing. Even mystical creatures joined in. The price was explained to them, all of them agreed. Regina was amazed she knew at this rate, Storybrook will have its highest population yet. There might even be someone to challenge her for the position of Mayor, depending…yes all depending on what everyone would choose. Power or memories. They decided to do it at the Dark Palace this time. Snow, Charming, Elsa, and Jaden joined them, together with a few other leaders and Kings. Maleficent spun the coin, the vortex opened. Gina’s face appeared, and Jaden was the one this time to have tears streaming over her face. The message started:

_I would hope that the Princess of Ardendale will be here. I would assume that you like many others have had a struggle this last week my love. I need everyone to know, that I expect nothing, this is your choice. If families choose to stay together not to tear Kingdoms apart, then I will understand. My heart, however, wish for all those I love to find a way, back to the one place I did call home_. They all could see that Gina was struggling with her emotions. The message continued a few moments later _._

_I am about to choose many, I am about to cast the spell that will take all of you back to your Realms and in doing so, bring back your memories. Now at the same moment, I am also giving you a choice, to come back or stay. I never had the life I wanted, too many things had happened, but I did make a choice once, to protect my people as a Princess of the White Kingdom, I am choosing the same fate again. Right now I am too powerful to be in a Realm of magic. I am choosing to protect my people again, sadly, because all I really wanted was my family back._

_By now, most people would have chosen what to give up, their memories or their power. Your sacrifice will be remembered._

 

 _In order to_   _open a sustainable portal between here and Misthaven, the people that would like to get back to Storybrook must gather in the field where my family arrived. At the edge of the field, the four Elementals that made all this possible will find a symbol on the ground. Your symbol will be in the wind direction of your elemental power. This coin has one more spin in it, the last instruction will be given in three days when all the Elementals are in place, and all the people that chose to come back has gathered. Personal belonging will go through the portal, as long as it is not magic. In three days, my mothers must spin the coin. The message is for them only._

 

Gina’s face disappeared, and Jaden turned to her mother and wept in her arms. They all felt the emotions of staying or going all over again. “Mom, I will stay. Gina said that she would understand.” The blue eyes that some days turned flaming red was looking at her mother.

“No my darling, I had to let go of love once, and I had to give up a Kingdom once. Giving up love is much harder. Real love is so rare Jaden. I do believe you have found it. Only someone that loves you deeply will give you a choice to stay or to go back. I will miss you every day, but you have my blessing to go.”

“Oh, mom!” Jaden held onto her mother for dear life, Emma had a feeling that in three days, she and Snow will be doing the same thing.

The message spread through all the Realms. All of the magical creatures lined up first. There were ogres and a few Giants, some black unicorns, two more Dragons, Forest and Water Nymphs of all manners, Grumpy, his children and his wife. Ariel was not too far behind them with Erick in hand. Everyone watched as the queue got longer and longer. By the second day, it was announced that the Elementals were all at the field. One could feel the energy radiating from the massive growing crowd.

 

On the last day, Elsa and Snow respectively addressed their Kingdoms. Both women encouraging people to leave if they choose so and that it would be unhindered and for those that chose to stay there will still be a Kingdom.

Elsa was met with complete silence. It was one of the Captains of her guard that stepped forward. “Queen Elsa, if I may?” She nodded her approval for him to continue. “The entire guard has decided to go, wherever you choose to go.”

“So did the city council!” Another called out. Anna came to her. And the rest of the Royal household.” Elsa looked flustered. “You mean to tell me, that if I go, everyone will come with me?” There was a loud cheer of ayes. She could not believe it. She has seen many of her people pack their bare essentials, but to think an entire Kingdom would follow her, was beyond reason. She thanked them with tears in her eyes and said, let’s go!

 

She and Anna packed a few things personal to them. They were the last to leave and to protect the home of her birth she froze over the entire island for good.

Snow’s speech was not going so well. She was crying too much, she has not even started to say goodbye to lifelong friends. Charming took over at one point wishing everyone a safe journey. A simple peasant girl interrupted the Prince. “You are not coming with us?” A murmur spread through the crowd.

“If our Queen is not coming with, we are not going.” Cheers went up. Snow stepped forward her little frown back on her face.

“You want to go, and you want me and Charming to come with?” She asked her subjects. One of her advisors stepped forward; he bowed slightly.

“Queen Snow White, you have always protected us, no matter where we have been, and we are faithful that you will continue to do so but you, Princess Emma, Prince Neal and now Princess Regina, has sacrificed so much to keep all of us safe. We know Storybrook has its trouble, but as long as you are with us, and your family is with you, we will be alright.

“So we can go?” She asked Charming flabbergasted.

“Yes Snow, we can go!”

 

Once again, bluebirds carried messages around informing the other Kings and Queens that both the White Kingdom and Ardendale will be traveling to Storybrook. Few members of Wonderland joined them, and Jefferson promised to seal all the doors once the members of the Realms departed. Atlantica and Atlantis offered support and promised to host anyone that chose to stay, as did Corona, the Rose Kingdom and the Kingdom of Thomas and Ella. Lastly, Queen Merida offered the same sanctuary for anyone or any mystical creatures as well.

Emma and Regina were sitting in their room in the Dark Palace. Regina gave the coin to Emma. She spun it. They were both holding their breaths when Gina’s last message came through:

_Hi Moms. I have decided to go back to Boston. There is a certainly lost boy who is now in the Dark One’s debt. Too bad for him. I do not know how much time has passed or even if you choose to come if you do stay like I suspect all the Royals would. I do understand. Despite everything, it is the Kingdoms and not our family that will always come first. All I ask is that you send me a message, or a letter, just to let me know that you are both alright. I love you both so much._

_The portal needs to be open at the exact center of the Compass Rose between the Elementals. The portal will stay open for twenty-four hours. From now, you can open it at any time, as long as the Elementals are in place in their separate wind directions. None of them needs to come through if they chose to. As I said, once the portal is open, it will stay open for one day. The mom that did not spin the coin today is the only one that now can open the portal._

 

Regina sat with the coin in her hand, so much power over so many lives in such a little thing.


	41. It was good to be home

**Chapter 41**

 

**Misthaven present day**

“There are a lot more people, and others here than what we have ever had in Storybrook!”  Regina stated the obvious.  “You are worried about the magic?”  Regina turned to Emma. 

“No, I am worried that the water infrastructure will not be sufficient!” Emma smiled,  Regina placed one hand over her eyes.  “Sorry!” She said in that Mayor tone that meant she is not sorry at all. “It will be alright Regina.”  She breathed in hard.  “Yes, I know.”

 

Everything has been explained to everyone yet again.  What would happen when the portal opens, how long it will stay open and where everyone should go once they are on the other side and need something.  Both Regina and Emma was praying that everything would be alright on the other side and that the people that should still have their memories would actually still have it. That was the problem with the last curse, the fact that they did not have their memories.

 

The four Elementals took their places.  Regina and Emma measured the exact center of the Compass Rose the night before.  There was a round plate in the middle, perfect for spinning the coin.  Regina spun the coin, and the vortex started to open, she stepped aside, out of the border of where the portal would open.  She turned and watched as the magnificence of it unfolded before her.  She has never seen a portal this big or one so stable.  Her daughter’s powers amaze her all over again.  They marked the time on the sundial to ensure the precise time that the portal would close.  A few designated members would stay behind to ensure that no one was left behind and that nothing untoward happened or that something slipped through that should not.

 

The massive line was standing at the ready.  Neal slapped Grumpy on the back.  “How about it Leroy?” Grumpy smirked, “After you my Prince.”  He bowed his head and at that Neal jumped with his back first into the portal, calling, “woohoo, this is awesome!”  Neal already informed his parents that he did not think he had any powers, but he did not want his memories either.  They both hugged him and told him that they were sure Gina would take him in mind in her magic and that they will see him on the other side.  As soon as the Prince disappeared, everyone seemed to take courage from him and family by family, friends and enemies alike started to jump into the silver vortex to a new life.

 

The four Elementals joined Trina, Regina, Emma and the Charming’s.  Only Grand Pabbie seemed to still struggle with his choice.  Elsa kneeled down to the Rock Troll.

“It will be alright Grand Pabbie if you choose your abilities over your knowledge.”  He looked up to his Queen with his big eyes.  “And what would you need on the other side, Queen Elsa?  Someone who can change memories or someone that can give you advice?”  Elsa knew what she wanted, but it was not her choice.  “The answer is already in your heart Grand Pabbie.”  She kissed him and took her place next to Snow and her daughter.  They would all wait until everyone was safely through.  Jiminy joined them with a man none of them knew and the Gryphon that helped them the day Gina was conceived. The Gryphon had a Phoenix on its back that at arrival came to sit on Elsa’s shoulder. 

“You are coming with us?”  The firebird sang its song and Elsa started to cry. 

“It will make you mortal Metheus.” The bird seemed to be happy with that, and before Elsa could say anything more, the Phoenix and Gryphon flew into the portal.  “Go ahead Pongo,” Jiminy said to the unknown man. Emma’s mouth fell open. 

“That is Pongo?”  Jiminy only smiled and then added.  “He has been very unhappy here.  And even more so to be a man and the Gryphon is his true love that has been living with a terrible curse for a long time.” Regina asked in her deep husky voice,

“The Gryphon, is cursed?  And he thinks it is a bad thing?  He’s a Gryphon!”  She sounded more and more like the Mayor, to Snow’s relief.

“It is a curse if all you want to be is a dog.”

Emma frowned.  “The Gryphon is Perdita?”

“Who’s Perdita?”  Regina asked confused, Emma rolled her eyes.  “Pongo’s love, you know, 101 Dalmatians?”  Regina’s eyebrow shot up. 

“Doctor Hopper if you are planning to have 101 Dalmatians, you will need a license for every single one!”  Jiminy laughed.  “I think as soon as you are back we need to schedule a session to help you deal with your stress.  Maleficent mischievously blew a strong breath onto the cricket, and he disappeared into the vortex.  Trina produced the remedy Mal was thinking of.  “This is ten times better than any shrink session.”

 

“Maleficent that was mean!”  Snow accused.  She turned to Snow and kept one eye on the sky where Lily was still in dragon form flying high into the air. 

“Surely Snow, by now you know what I am like when I am mean, he was just irritating.”  After Mal took a drink, she passed the bottle to Regina.  Regina eyed it suspiciously. 

“It is an improved version of our Nuclear-Wasted, a welcome gift to Gina.”  Regina grabbed the bottle and took a big swig.

“Really?”  Emma asked.  “Have you learned nothing of the other night when we drank three bottles that Gina named, accurately if I might add?” 

Regina’s eyes nearly popped out of its socket as the drink hit her stomach. But two seconds later she felt calm and very relaxed. 

“Oh Honey you have to try this!”  She said to Emma.  The blonde princess only shook her head. 

“I will have some of that!”  The familiar voice came to the group. “Sis!” Regina yelled out and grabbed Zelena into a hug. Zelena gave her other sister a curious look and pointed to the twin in her arms. “This is Regina?”  Trina handed her the improved Nuclear-Wasted. 

“You will like this Sis.”  Oh and she did, the added ingredient was of her stock.  “I approve, what do you think Gina will call it?”

“Happy Atomic Mushroom!”  Mal said.

“No, no, Nuclear-sex!”  Regina announced with a slur. Trina laughed. “No dear, that is what Fuck-shock is for if Gina left any of it for us!” 

 

They heard a gasp, they all turned to Jaden.  Trina spoke up.  “I am sorry dear, I did not mean it like that.  Since she found you, she has been… you know, good.” Jaden nodded. 

“Perhaps I need some of that?”

“Jaden!”  Elsa warned.  “What mom, it is our last night here, and as a Princes of Ardendale I am allowed to drink as of the age of sixteen, which as you well know, was months ago!”  She took the bottle from Zelena and took two swallows. Her entire body burst into flames.

“Wow! Can I pre-order?”  She asked with a numb smile.  They were all nervous. “I’ll have some of that if it is alright Sheriff?”  Dorothy Gale joined them with her small dog Toto. Emma went over to hug her.  “We did not hear anything from Oz, so we tried to get a message to you and Zelena via other methods. 

“It reached us, thank you, Emma.”  She started to look around, Emma touched her softly on the arm.  “Red has been having nightmares, she and Granny were of the first to leave.”  Dorothy nodded and took a drink from the yet to named bottle. “Whoa! That that is something!”

 

As the night proceeded, the group did all sorts of things to keep themselves busy.  Trina and Regina produced a light show.  Lily and Mal were flying together in the night sky and blowing flames all around.   Everything was beautiful and sad.  They all have come to depend on their magic. It was part of them even if they forgot for a while.  Even Emma threw a few flaming balls into the sky that burst like fireworks.  The few folks that were still making their way through the portal stood amazed and then moved on to their new lives.

 

Morning found them all strangely quiet and more than a little exhausted.  As the sun reached the dial, they all knew it was only an hour or two until they could join the others.  There were only a few hundred people that needed to still pass. They will all make it in good time.  Regina was sleeping in Emma’s arms where they made themselves comfortable against a rock. Even Snow thought that Regina looked beautiful as she slept. Snow wondered if she was feeling the same anxiety as she did after the first curse broke and she held Emma for the first time in twenty-eight years.  It was not nearly as long for her and Gina, maybe a year?  But she still expected that a few of the women with her had some nervous tension about seeing the rebellious teen again.  Snow only hoped that her time alone has been good to her grandchild.  The gods only knew the child had already been through so much, and she has lost so much every time.

 

“It is time.” David all of a sudden announced.  The last few groups left almost half an hour ago.  The sundial was almost on the mark.  They all got up, Mal and Lily landed a few feet away and shook themselves, giving meaning full cries for the last time in Dragon form, then the two woman transformed and walked over to the group.  At the last moment, they were joined by Hyde and van Helsing.  Van Helsing jumped in, without hesitation. Hyde shook his head. 

“Is there a problem Edward?”  Emma asked him.  He turned his tall figure to her and spoke in his slow, precise manner. 

“We do not get along, his business is to hunt monsters, and as you well know, I have been classed as one.  But he is a man of honor. He will be a great asset to your department, as long as he stays out of Untold Cove Sheriff.”  He tapped his hat to her and walked into the silver whirl.

 

The dozen people left all held hands.  Regina was keeping a close eye on the stability of the vortex, the moment the sundial started to touch the mark they could all see the portal becoming smaller. Regina was pacing her breath. Everyone was waiting for her.  “Now!”  She said, the portal was half its original size, and all twelve of them jumped.  The portal closed behind them.

**Storybrook present day**

 

They landed in the middle of the main road intersection.  Everything looked the same.  The group could see the North Mountain, its peak slightly covered with snow, indicating the beginning of summer.  Emma looked around. They were all back in what would pass as their Storybrook outfits. 

“We should have a look around,” Emma suggested.  They did not get very far.  Granny came out of the diner. 

“Is this the time to wake up?”  She scolded.

“Sheriff, Deputy Nolan, you are needed at the hospital, some incident of two folks fighting.  And you!”  Eugenia turned to Dorothy. 

“Ruby is at the sheriff’s office to take calls. We need her in the forest! Besides the fact that she was worried sick Gale, Gabriel needs her there!”  Dorothy’s face broke into a smile, and she started to jog over to the Station.

 

 “Alright then,” Emma said, “we will get going.”  Jaden grabbed her arm. “When are we going to find Gina?”  Emma held her face with one hand. 

“As soon as we know what is going on Jaden. By the looks of it, you and Snow are late for school.”  Jaden nodded and started to walk off. 

“Snow?”  Regina asked.  There was no reaction, their first obstacle. 

“Mary Margaret Nolan, should you not be at school?”  Snow looked up at her, bewildered. “Yes!”  She said.  

“Sorry, Madam Mayor!” She kissed David and followed Jaden at a brisk walk.  They all turned to David.  Regina was looking him up and down. “Deputy?”  She gave him her one brow intimidating mayor look. 

“What, I still remember, I do not know why she does not!”  Emma sighed, “Alright, can you sort out the fight and take Elsa with you?”  They both nodded.  Grand Pabbie was standing to one side; no one knew what he chose.  Regina cleared her throat.  “Oh, yes.”  He replied in his deep, wise voice. 

“I will be at the Deputy Mayor’s office if you need me Madam Mayor.”  With that, he strolled off.  _Deputy Mayor?_   Emma mouthed to Regina, and she shrugged her shoulders. 

“Well, our bottle survived, so I guess we are all off,” Trina said and then she stopped in her tracks.  She turned slowly to Regina. 

“Even without magic I can hear you ranting, stop it! It would also seem that Robin, Mal, Lily Zelena and I are living together, running a family business.”  The last words were coming out very slowly. 

“Is this  _family business_  legal?”  Regina enquired.

“Hell if I care!” Zelena chirped in, she kissed a stunned Regina on her cheek and joined Trina. “Later Sis!”

 

At last, they were alone.  Emma pulled Regina into a hug.  “Eewe Emma get a room!”  She turned to the boy who addressed her.  “Neal?” He gave her a half smile, very much like her own. He kissed her and then whispered in her ear.  “Mom faked it just to freak Regina out.”  Emma smiled at him.  “You remember?”  He frowned at his sister.  “What do you mean?”  He asked.  “You remember that you are my brother?”  He lifted an eyebrow, “Duh! As if you will let me forget that.  It is only us that actually remember, well that mom, is our mom.  Everyone else thinks you are just good friends.”  Emma nodded, not too sure what to say to him; he wanted all his feelings of hurt and loss not to be with him when he came back.

“Why are you not in school Neal?”

“I’m bunking. Arrest me, Sheriff!”  He said coyly and ran off.  Emma let out a long breath. 

“What now, what do we do first?”  She asked Regina.  “Well Sheriff, for the most part, everything seems normal, so I suggest, you go  _sheriffing_  and find our daughter, and I will try, find to out who the new Deputy Mayor is.  If it is Hopper, I am going to kill Gina.”  Regina started to walk away. She was dressed in a sleeveless black mini dress.  Emma turned her head slightly as her lover walked off.  “Stop looking at my ass Sheriff and get to work!”  _Gods, it was good to be home,_ Emma thought.


	42. Missing your magic?

**Chapter 42**

 

Regina walked into her office.  Everything was the same, well almost.  There was a vase with beautiful, deep red roses on her desk.  There was no card attached.  Just the mere thought that Gina might have left them.  She paused. Regina took out her cell phone and called Gina.  To her disappointment, she received the recorded message of  _this number is no longer…_   She decided to call the house number.  There was no answer.  She thought of Emma, flicked her hands. “Oh gods,” She said as she felt behind her for a chair and sat heavily.  It was a long time since she last had all her memories and knew exactly who she was and where she came from without magic.  “Come on Regina. You did it for almost thirty years before, you will adjust.”

 

“Missing your magic already?”  She heard Elsa’s soft voice.  Regina gave her a half smile.

“Seems so, how are you doing?”  Elsa turned her head to one side. 

“I am cold, which has never happened before, David had to give me his jacket before I froze to death, and it is almost summer so I have no idea how I will survive winter or Ardenville for that matter.”

Regina waved her in.  “You look troubled over and above feeling the climate like the rest of us?”

 

Elsa took up a chair in front of Regina’s desk, “I believe you have a change in your office?”  Regina looked at the roses and then realized Elsa meant the reason why she came to the office in the first place. 

“Yes, it would seem that I now have a Deputy Mayor.” She let her head down and to the side while leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs.  Elsa knew the look and was well aware that Regina was very irritated with the unexpected change. 

“I was about to go and see who my new competition was when you popped in Doctor, what happened at the hospital?”  Elsa waved the matter away.

“Oh, just some of the dwarfs at their usual business. 

“You would think that it Gina could create a Deputy Mayor, she could stop Leroy’s drinking habits,” Regina said with a sigh. 

“Oh, no, this time it was Sneezy, and Doc. Sneezy’s allergies are still as bad, and Doc can’t help him. So the chemist wacked the Doc.”  Regina raises her brow.

“Seems all this more or less the same, except for this deputy.” Regina clenched out between her teeth.

 

Elsa smiled.  “You are extremely protective of your job.”  She commented. 

“Elsa, you of all people should understand, you were willing to give up your daughter, as was Snow, for your people. I am not Mayor because of the power,” She looked carelessly at her nails and opened up her hand as if she was literary sharpening her claws.  “Though it has its perks, Storybrook was nothing like it is now.  It needed a lot of fixing after the first curse, I did that, for the people.” 

Elsa nodded her understanding.  “So let’s go and take down this bitch!”  Elsa said as she got up, she straightened her dress and Regina did much the same.  They walked out of the office as only two Queens could.  When they got to the door of the Deputy Mayor, Regina shot up a brow and turned to Elsa. 

“You knew!”  Elsa gave a small laugh. 

“I found out at the hospital, instead of calling me Doctor Frost, everyone respectfully greeted me as Madam Deputy Mayor.  I was as shocked as you. I made my way over here as soon as I could, knowing how you feel.”  She offered Regina one of the diplomatic handshakes. 

“Apparently we are quite the team, and we are fare but instill great fear.  So yes, it seemed nothing has changed.”  Regina gave her a sideways look. 

“We will see come election time.”  She pulled Elsa into an unexpected hug.  So unexpected that Nella, their mutual secretary dropped the tray of coffee she was holding.

 

“Miss Mills, Miss Frost, I am so sorry!”  Both women could see the young woman who use to be a caretaker in Misthaven, shake from top to bottom. 

“It is quite alright Nella. Please call maintenance to clean that up?”  The woman looked at Regina as if she just asked her to have oral sex with her.  Her mouth opened and closed a few times when she straightens up and said. “Yes, of course, Mayor, thank you.” Regina smiled wickedly as the girl rushed away. 

 

Regina indicated for Elsa to follow her.  When they sat down on the comfortable couches in the office instead of the desk, Elsa smiled.  “It would seem that Gina created your position in the hopes that Storybrook would be too big for me to run alone,” Regina said practically.  “Or,” Elsa said as she placed her hand over Regina’s. “She wanted to ensure that both of us have more time to spend with our daughters?”  Regina smiled sadly.   _Gods she hopes the latter was the case_.

 

“Alright Miss Frost, can you handle the office and try to find out what is going on and what has changed, while I follow up on Emma?”  She added with a soft voice.  “And I will find Met for you.”  Elsa thanked her and set off.  Regina sat back in the familiar chair in her familiar suite and breathed deeply. “Gina, I hope to gods that you did not pull any more funnies!”

 

“Swan. I would like to tell you this is a pleasant surprise, but it is not!”  Emma could hear the menacing anger in Eoin’s voice.  “Cut the crap Lost boy, where is she?”  Eoin not only detested the way she spoke to him, but he also despised the name she called him.  It took a lot of effort and scheming on his side to not be a lost boy.

 “And if I give you this information, what is in it for me…”  Emma could hear him choke and his breathing became very irregular.  “What is wrong Eoin, did not think that a deal with the Dark One would have consequences?” 

 

Eoin felt as if he was having a heart attack, but he knew it was not, it was his new damn curse.  It felt as if someone was squeezing his heart, literally.  “Okay, okay, she is in Boston!”  He yelled out, and the pain instantly stopped.  “I know she is in Boston, why else would I call you Shithead? Where exactly?”  She said the last word one by one to emphasize her message to him. 

“I will send you the address. She went back to her uncles, Tommy and Mick.”  The call went dead in his ear.  He cursed.  If it were even remotely possible, he would kill them all.  No one treated him like that.  At the mere thought, his heart started to ache again in his chest.

 

Regina found Met at the hospital. She should have known. It would be the only job suited for him.  Doctor Matt Matheus.  “Hello, Matt?”  Regina said carefully; it was one of the things she caught on soon enough that there were very few of her old friends that still had their memories.  Among finding him and some other people, she called Henry.  He cried with relief and promised to come home as soon as he and Rapz could.

 

“Madam Mayor?  To what do we owe this honor?”  She smiled at him. He looked exactly the same as the last time she saw him in person.  The light brown eyes that tended to look orange-yellow at times, with the same softness as always, his ruggedly handsome features under the day-old beard, his wild brown hair falling into his eyes. Regina gave him one of her sad smiles. 

“Just checking in, making sure everything is alright.”  She took a breath, she had to know one other thing, now that she was sure he did not have his memories.  “How is Jaden?”  He gave her a dreamy lopsided smile. 

“She is wonderful; it still surprises me that Elsa allowed me to become part of her life.  I chose Doctors without Borders over my child; it seems so selfish now, back then, it was all I could think off.”  He took Regina by the arm and steered her into a quiet corner.  He fiddled in his hospital coat pocket and took out a small velvet box.  “What do you think?”  He asked Regina with a proud smile. 

“Oh Matt, it is beautiful.”  It was a simple solitaire setting with a blue diamond, the same color as Elsa’s eyes.  It made her think of the ring Gina gave Jaden. 

He exhaled.  “I have been carrying it for a while now, I am so nervous that she will say no, you know being so upset when I eventually came back and all, but I have never stopped loving her.”  Regina smiled and placed the box back into his hand, she patted his hand. 

“You will do great Matt.”  He gave her a boyish smile.  “By the way, Regina, when is Gina coming back?  Jaden is not herself without her best friend.” 

She swallowed.  “Emma is taking care of that; I am sure she will be back soon.”  He nodded and then they both heard his name being called over the system.  He waved her off as he started to jog away.

 

Regina called Elsa and told her, that Matt is her man and that he is a doctor.  Elsa sounded relieved, especially when Regina ensured her that he was very much part of her life.  She called Emma.  “Any news?”  She was more anxious than what she realized.  “Yeah,” Emma said, Regina instantly knew there was more, she held her breath.  “She went back to her uncles.”  Regina nodded even though Emma could not see it. “The thing is we have been away for more than a year.”  Regina closed her mouth with two fingers and looked up, willing her eyes not to tear up, but they did.  “Alright, we will talk later than to decide how and when we are going to get her.”

“Alright,” Emma said softly.

 

No one knew exactly how it happened but three days passed before everyone with their memories could get together again and speak about Jaden.  Storybrook was much bigger than before. Although everything seemed to still run smoothly in Mayor Mills’ town, little issues kept creeping up. Van Helsing, Red, and Mulan were working in a special unit for Emma, K9 and animal control.  Ruby was in charge of a massive German Shepard that looked far more wolf than dog.  Between the three they responded to any animal-related issues.  The fire department had two new members, the former Dragons that came through with the ogres.  The former ogres all worked at the animal shelter. Controlling a new issue Storybrook seemed to have from  _tourists_.  The forest that Gina created to protect Excalibur was larger and with very old trees, so there was a problem with illegal logging and smuggling of exotic animals. The five brothers were helping out the Sheriff’s department and took care of confiscated animals.  It was strange seeing the men that were only slightly smaller than their ogre form handle all the animals with such care and love.

 

Granny’s was now a proper restaurant, and the food as always was excellent.  She had a bartender and four waitresses working for her and boy that delivered on his scooter.   Things were the same, and yet so much has changed.  Regina was shocked when she went into Gina’s room and found it to be a storing place. She cried in Emma’s arms the entire night.  Jaden was not dealing with it any better, she kept on turning the ring on her finger and asked Elsa when they were going to get her girl.  Everyone had their happy ending, it was the time that Gina got hers.

 

Grand Pabbie was the new DA Grant Rockwell, his choice, in the end, was his magic.  His wisdom came from his magic, and he thought it would be the best way to serve his Queen, with his wisdom and knowledge intact.  The Mills sisters’ family business with Mal and Lily turned out to be a vineyard and brewery.  It was far less shocking than what Regina thought at first.  They were even exporting, and that was Lily’s job, to fly ordered cargo out.  There was a new, small airport run by staff that all used to have some flying ability in Misthaven.  The nunnery was turned into a social service care facility with education programs, and it was where Archie had his new practice with his two Dalmatians at his side. 

There were a skate park, a dek hockey rink, and basketball court.  Close by was a lake about the size of an ice hockey rink. Regina was sure that it would be used for exactly that purpose during the winter.  Emma found Regina sitting close to the park more than once.  The Sheriff stood behind the bench where her lover sat, and she placed her hand on Regina’s shoulder as she was watching the kids play there after school.  The older woman reached up, they held hands in silence.  “I think she built this in the hopes that we would come back.”  Emma breathed deeply. 

“Come, Regina, we are having supper with the Frosts and Nolan’s.”  Regina nodded.  They set up the meeting to discuss Gina.  Trina and Mal would join them as well.

Regina looked back to the park.  “Everything is so perfect!  This is now a nice town to raise a family.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

 

“Are we going to have problems with Eoin?” Snow asked as soon as they had finished dinner and David took Matt out for a beer.

“No, seems he made a deal with the Dark One without realizing it, he will not be a problem,” Emma answered.

“What about Gina and all her power?” Regina sighed.  She has been asking herself the same question the entire time.  “If Gina could create all of this, I am sure she would have come up with an idea how to handle her power in the new town.”  She answered her sister.  Jaden jumped up, her body language was stiff and stressed.  She folded her arms around herself, hugging herself.  None of the women tried to console her. 

“She will do the same thing, she did for us,” Jaden said, her back still turned to the others. 

“What do you mean Honey?”  The young woman turned, her face wet with all the pain she was feeling.  There would only be one choice for Gina, and she knew it. 

“She will not bring her magic to Storybrook, but it is tied to her.  So she will either stay in Boston, or she will give up her memories.”  Jaden’s wall finally broke.  Elsa swept her daughter into her arms and let her cry. She apparently gave this matter much more thought than the rest of them. “She won’t remember me, Mamma!”  Jaden gave a heart-wrenching sob; it tore at all their hearts.  They all have loved over time, space and realms.  They knew what Jaden was losing, and she was losing.  Her summary of the situation was correct.  All the adults were worried as to how to get Gina back, her concern was, would she get Gina back?  One way or another, the answer was no, and that affected them all.

 

They sat in silence for a while. It was only Jaden’s sobs that could occasionally be heard. Regina closed her eyes.  “Fuck this!”  She looked at Trina who immediately produced a bottle. 

“I am not even going to ask.”  She popped the top and drank a good bit before she passed the bottle to Emma.  The Sheriff watched her with big eyes.  They all knew Regina never swore and when she did, things were about to happen.  Emma took a sip and passed the bottle on. 

“Sheriff, make a con-call with your entire department!”  Emma smiled, “Yes Madam Mayor.”  Jaden stopped crying as soon as she took a sip of the drink as she passed it on to her mother.  No one said anything.

 

“All setup Madam Mayor,” Emma said as soon as the conference call was set up. “Good!”  The Mayor’s voice came clear through everyone’s cell phones, and they all wondered who did what to ensure the mayor’s wrath.

“Li, Ruby pack your gear and meet me in an hour in front of the Sheriff’s office. Gabriel, David, you two will be in charge of the Sheriff’s department.  Grant, you will be in charge of the town.”  Her instructions were met with silence. “Mary Margaret, get us some food and drink from Granny’s for a two-day trip.  We will be taking the big sheriff land rovers. Matt, you will be responsible for Jaden and Neal.”

“No way, I am coming with!”

“This is not up for discussion!”  The words came out of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s mouth as if they were speaking as one woman.  They had no idea what Gina would be like or what her plan was, and a changed Gina was the last thing they wanted to subject Jaden too.

“Sheriff, who do we have?”  Emma wrote the list down: Regina x2, Emma, Elsa, Snow, Maleficent, Zelena, Red, and Mulan.  Regina nod in satisfaction.

“Belle, you will take over communication, between you and Gale I need you to coordinate with everyone, is that clear?”  She got a yes ma’am.

“Gabriel, David, and Grant, if so much as a rock is out of place while the Sheriff, the Deputy Mayor and I are out of town I will personally see to it that your balls get crushed in a vice!  The same goes for you, Matt.”  None of the men spoke.  

“Hyde, please try and get along with Kristoff and Swen, I will depend on you three to cover the suburbs. Oh, and someone needs to fill in for Mary Margaret while we are gone.  We will give you an ETA on return and instructions then.  Any questions?”  Everyone had questions.  It was only David that knew what was going on and where they were heading. “Good!”  Regina said. “We all assemble in front of the Sheriff’s station in one hour, and ladies, pack the heavy gear!”

 

David was there in an hour as well.  He looked the ten women over.  “No offense Regina but are you going on a rescue mission, a stockholder’s meeting or a bear hunt?”  Regina looked around.  They were all dressed normal, she and Elsa had business suits with heels on, while Emma, Li, and Ruby was dressed in their usual jeans and jackets, with the exception of tactical vests and extra guns and holsters strapped to their legs.  Trina, Mal, and Zelena already looked drunk, and they were dressed like cat-burglars, all in black.  Snow was dressed like Snow, with the exception of a high powered bow in her hand and several knives in a special holster on her leg. Li had a Katana strapped to her back, and Ruby had her massive dog Toto with her. “What?”  Regina asked, and David only closed his eyes. 

“Maybe Gabriel and I should come along?  Seeing as you are going to speak to rugged men?”  He pushed his luck.

“David,” Snow said all offended, her little frown on her forehead. “We are not going there to talk to them.” David closed his eyes with his hands and then held up both in submission.  “Alright, just be careful?”

“Aren’t we always?”  She asked innocently as she kissed him on the cheek. Li and Ruby had no idea what was going on, but their blood was pumping, this was going to be an awesome girl’s night out!


	43. Told you I have a complicated family

**Chapter 43**

**Boston**

The two Sheriff vehicles stopped in front of the biker warehouse. A few questionable characters left as soon as they saw the cops.  The ten woman exited the vehicles like one and were all ready to take action.  Regina could not decide if her sisters and Mal drank too much alcohol or too much caffeine drinks. They were in overdrive. She looked at Emma to get the reassurance that everything would be alright.  Emma gave her a small smile, the uncertainty clear on her face as well.

 

At the reaction of his customers, Tommy gave his guys a sign and walked out of the warehouse to see what the matter was.  He was still cleaning is hands when he was confronted with the women.  And not any women, some of the most beautiful women he has ever seen in his life.  At his exit, several drew their weapons, and the massive dog was growling at him. He looked from one to the other, trying to determine who the most significant threat would be. 

“Tommy, what the fuck…” A young man in a work overall stopped in his tracks when he saw the mob. His entrance spooked the hyper woman.  Snow was the closest to him, and before he knew it, he was laying on the ground holding his balls.  Snow's arrow was pointed at Tommy’s chest again.  Tommy placed the rag he was using to clean his hands, into his back pocket, his gun was there.  For a moment he thought about it.  He looked at Regina and Elsa. They were the only woman not armed, he, however, knew that Regina was a cat not to take on at all, never mind with claws.

“If you ladies would like to follow me?”  When Emma and Snow stepped up, his big hand stopped them.  “No, only them.”  His eyes told Emma that he was serious. Regina smiled at her. She and Elsa walked into the warehouse as if they were indeed attending a stakeholders meeting.

 

As soon as Regina was inside, she started to look around.  She expected a full working workshop, but it was strangely quiet except for one person welding in the far corner, she stopped, and her body went rigid. Even from this distance, she knew it was Gina. She looked taller. Her shoulders were broader. She had new tattoos on her arms.  Regina started to make her way towards her daughter when Tommy stopped her by holding onto her upper arm.  She looked back to him annoyed, he just shook his head and motioned for her to follow him.

 

“If anyone else comes in, shoot them.”  He said loud enough for the women outside to hear as well.  Regina looked around, she could not see anyone the comment was directed to, but she knew there were others, she could feel them.  She and Elsa climbed the one set of stairs to Tommy’s office. 

“I do apologize for the state of my office. It is not often that I accommodate ladies of your caliber.”  His voice was thick with emotion. It brought out the Irish accent more.

“How is she?”  Regina asked Tommy sat down in his chair with a big sigh.  He wiped his brow.  “No telling with that one at the moment.  One day she works her arse off, the next day she sleeps all day, drunk out of her skull.”  Regina felt the tears brightening her eyes, but she held them in.  He turned his look to Elsa.  “Some nights she falls asleep with a picture of her lass in her arms. Usually, she cries all night and then she gets drunk.”  He shook his head.  “She changed, when she came back, she was not the girl I knew.  She got a lot of her shit together, but when it comes to her lass and you,” He indicated his head to Regina.  “She’s very fucked up.  She used to be a player, a new girl in her bed every night.”  He gave a deep sigh.

“Now, now all she does is look at them photos, cry and drink.”

“May I speak with her?”  Tommy flashed her a look of anger.

“Why now Miss Mills, you have been gone for more than a year. The little lass was starting to accept that you were gone.  She came home, to her family, why would I let you disrupt that now?  For ya to hurt her all over again?  She is not a toy you and Emma can toss around whenever it suits you.”

“That’s not…”

“Yes, I know.  Circumstances beyond your control. I am not going to fuck around with you Miss Mills. Ginny is as much my daughter as she is yours, the exception is that I have been in her life and a far more stable figure at that, than you or Emma, have ever been.”

 

Regina swallowed, she could not argue with anything he said.  She did not even know his last name, and he seemed to know so much more than her last name.  More so, he knew Gina.  The tears that she tried to hold in, came, there was no way to stop it any longer.  “You are right Tommy. You and Mick and your family have been more of a home to her than what Emma and I could provide. But we want to change that.”  She saw his Irish temper flare again, but he said nothing. He hung his head for a moment, trying to compose himself. 

“I think it is about time for you and Doctor Frost to go Miss Mills.” Regina was breathing heavy.  She flicked her fingers as if she was trying to conjure up her magic.  Elsa saw the move.  Elsa tapped twice on her watch.  Then she asked the question that Regina not dare ask.  “Is this not a choice for Gina?”  She asked softly. 

“In a case like this Doctor Frost would you as a parent leave this choice for Jaden?”  She had to agree with him.

“No, I would choose for her.” She answered softly, “but,” she added, “Gina needs to be with the people that understand her.”

Tommy looked at her intense. “Are you implying that I do not understand my girl?”  The two woman looked at him.  “Has Gina ever done anything that you did not understand?”

Tommy frowned.  “Yeah thought so, she is coming with us,” Regina said, standing up. She nodded to Tommy and gave him a card.  It was one of her personal business cards. 

“Tommy, I do not want to take Gina away from you.  Gods, she would most likely call you every day to ask something about her bike, as she did in the past.  And she sure as hell needs a father like you in her life.”

Tommy stood up, towering over them.  He did not look happy. 

“Regina, she is not the same Ginny from a year before.”

“Has her love changed?  Her love for me?  Her love for you?  Did that change?”  Tommy’s eyes said everything Regina needed to know. 

“I will never take that away from you. But she is coming home with us to Storybrook.”  Tommy smirked. “You know that she was here one day and she got Mick and me out of the business?”

“Makes sense, she called in a debt from Eoin.” Tommy turned his head. 

“How you know about that?”

 

Regina looked at him.  “Eoin is not who you think he is and he fucked her over badly. The price was high.  You can protect her from some things, but Eoin is a problem, that only we can deal with.” Tommy nodded.  Neither Elsa nor Regina had any idea what his decision was.

As they stood up and started to make their way back towards the entrance, he felt it before he saw anything.  He looked around. Gina was still where she was welding.  All of his guys were rounded up.  On their knees, hands behind their heads. Billy was still holding his balls.  He sighed and looked at Regina, “Should have guessed.”

 

Everything for a moment seemed very quiet, except for the welding.  Regina nodded to Snow.  Snow readied herself.  “Remember that conversation we had about Gina being different and you not understanding it?”  Tommy nodded. Regina looked at Snow and indicated with her head.  Snow pulled her bow back and aimed at the middle of Gina’s back.  She breathed and let go.  Tommy watched in horror, he yelled Gina’s name, but with the noise of the welding and her protective gear, there was no way she would hear him.  He watched as the arrow speeded towards her, and when it was a meter from her, she turned around and caught it.

 

Gina took off her helmet and ear protection.  She lit a cigarette and took a long drink of Nuclear-Wasted.  

“You’re not supposed to drink it like that…!”  All of her aunts yelled at the same time. She inhaled more of the smoke and threw the butt on the floor and killed it with a heavy boot.  She took the bottle and walked over to the group. When she was close enough, she handed the bottle to Trina.  

“I improved on it.”  Trina took a swallow, as the yellow-green liquid hit her stomach her eyes nearly popped out, she could feel the effects immediately.  She handed the bottle to Zelena and with a strained voice added, “It’s improved alright.” 

 

Gina’s eyes glanced from Regina to Emma and Elsa.  They all could see the questions there, but she spoke to no one.  After Zelena passed the bottle to Mal, she passed it to Tommy, who looked as if he needed a drink.  He coughed a bit as the strong alcohol hit him.  He looked at the bottle.  “Appropriate name.” The quirk made a few of them relax.

 

Gina bent down to have a look at Billy.  “Which one fucked you in the balls, Billy?” He pointed to the culprit.  “Really?”  She looked back at Billy with disgust. “That little tiny woman is my grandmother!”  Billy just held his balls tighter.  She looked at one of the bigger men that smirked when she spoke to Billy.  “What ya looking at Liam?”

“Was wondering who they work for and what their business is here.”  Tommy sighed auditable.  Liam was looking at the wrong woman, the wrong way, asking a completely inappropriate question.  Gina squatted next to him.  “That woman, you are undressing with your eyes,” She looked at him, and he tore his eyes away from her to look at Gina. “the stunning brunette in the mini with the come-fuck-me-hills?”  The asshole nodded. “They work for her.  They are here for me because you see, that is my mother, and if you continue to stare at her the way you have, I will stick a blowtorch into your eyes.  Ya, feel me?”  He nodded and then turned his attention to the blonde.  Gina hit him so hard on the side of his face that it felt as if his eye would explode right out of its eye socket.  Swelling started immediately, he all of a sudden looked at her in fear.  He would never have guessed that a girl could hit so hard.  “And that one is my biological mother. You don’t want to look at her either.”  All of a sudden all the men were looking at the ground.  Tommy just shook his head with a smile. “Your grandmother?”  He asked.  She looked at him in all seriousness.  “Told you I have a complicated family.”

 

Her eyes came up to meet all the women.  They saw the appreciation in her eyes.  She finally turned to Elsa.  “How is she?” Elsa gave her a small smile. 

“She misses you, from the moment we landed, she wanted to start looking for you.”  Gina gave a nod and looked at Snow. 

“Neal figured it out?”

“Yes.”  Snow said slowly.  She looked at Emma and Regina. 

“My stuff is past the john on the left.”  They just looked at her.  They wanted to touch her, hold her.  Tommy’s shoulders sagged.  He tried to warn them.

“Tommy?”  She called him, the both of them made their way to his office.

 

“Alright,” Regina let out a breath that she held for far too long, it was not exactly the reunion she had hoped for. 

“Let’s pack up all her stuff. You can load it into Emma’s car.”  They all indicated their understanding and dispatched.  Regina and Emma looked to the men that were still on the ground. 

“We would appreciate your help, especially with her bike?”  One of them dared to stand up. He wanted to say something to her but thought the better of it. He gave Regina a crud nod and called the boys to start packing Ginny’s stuff.

 

Regina clutched Emma’s hand to give her the courage that was seeping from her body by the second.  They both told themselves not to expect anything, but Gina did not even greet them.  There was no warm hugs or smiles.   Regina wondered for a moment if they were doing the correct thing when her eyes fell on Gina and Tommy in his office. She was holding on to him.  Her head on his chest.  Her arms could not go around the man. Gina enveloped in his embrace.  She could see the love between them.  Tommy pulled away and wiped his eyes then he poured them both a heavy dose of Irish whiskey, they clinked their glasses, both swallowed in one gulp. She saw Tommy signal his understanding to whatever Gina was telling him, he held her again and then she made her way back to the two woman.  She had been crying, as she approached them, Regina opened up her arms, and her baby girl just fell into them.  Emma was embracing the both of them and kissing Gina on top of her head.  She said nothing to either woman.  She spoke to Tommy and Mick before they left, the boys all helped with the packing and more than one swallowed as Gina said goodbye to them.  She kissed Tommy and Mick and promised to visit soon.  She looked into Tommy’s eyes, he smiled.  “Always Lass.”  He said softly.

 

Gina walked to Regina, and she and Emma closed their arms around Gina’s shoulders and walked her to the car.  The three vehicles took off. Gina did not look back once. She still did not say anything.  Emma and Regina looked nervously between each other and Emma kept an eye on Gina in the back seat.  It was strange.  She did not seem to be unhappy or weary that she was with them, she just did not speak to them.  She did take Ruby’s dog Toto with her. She was now nestled into the dog’s fur sleeping soundly.

“Why is she not talking to us?”  Regina asked Emma concerned as soon as they were sure Gina was asleep. With the amount of alcohol they saw her drink neither was surprised when the silver head fell into the dark fur, and the even breathing told them that their daughter was asleep.   _Their daughter_.  It still felt unreal to Regina.  She was here, and yet it felt like a part of Gina was gone forever.  Regina wiped her eyes for the umpteenth time this day. She hated when she was so over emotional.  Emma was not far behind her.

“I do not know my love.  I really don’t know.”  Elsa spoke to her just before they left about their findings in Gina’s room.  There were photos of all of them, some framed, some just pasted on the wall or laying on her workbench.  Elsa had no idea that Gina took so many pictures of Jaden.  There were several of Elsa and Jaden, a selfie of Jaden, Gina, Neal, and Jason. The framed photo on her bedside table was of Jaden the night of the dance in her white dress, smiling up at Gina, eyes full of love.  Elsa nearly choked on her tears when she saw it, but what disturbed her was the number of empty bottles they found in Gina’s room.  She also found a razor with blood on it.

 

She rarely thought about Gina while they were back in Ardendale.  She never considered the emotional and mental pain the teen would suffer as a result of losing her family all at once.  But now, seeing the aftermath of her room, Elsa was all too aware of this child’s pain.  She warned Emma that there might be a lot of things about Gina that none of them will be prepared for.

 

Gina woke up about ten miles outside of Storybrook. Regina immediately turned to look at her sleepy daughter.  Gina had a very vulnerable look in the mornings when she woke up. 

“Hey Honey, did you sleep well?”  Gina rubbed her eyes and indicated yes with a yawn.  She looked around, Regina confirmed her thoughts. 

“We are almost home.”  Gina rewarded her with a smile. It made Regina's heart a bit lighter.  Then Gina moved forward, placing her arms on both of the backrests of the front seats.  Emma was watching her in the review mirror, Regina was looking straight at her.  Gina reached out and touched her dark mother’s face, almost as if she woke up from her drunken haze and she wanted to make sure that everything surrounding her was real and not just another tortured dream.

“Thanks for coming to get me.”  Her voice sounded strange. It was not only sleepiness. It was lower and huskier than Regina’s.  It brought tears to Emma’s eyes.  She remembered the scream that carried them to Misthaven.   _How many more days like that did Gina have for her voice to be so affected?_

“Sorry, it took us so long.”  Regina husked back. They looked at each other for what seemed like a lifetime.  Then Gina looked up.  She reached into her back pocket and took out a well-worn envelope.  She placed it in Regina’s hands, her eyes very serious. 

“Promise me, that no matter what happens in the next half an hour, you will read this letter first, before you do anything? Promise me?”  Regina swallowed.  “I promise.” Gina sighed with relieve. “Good, good.”  She leaned back against Toto. The dog cuddled into her.  She closed her eyes. She already saw the  _Welcome to Storybrook_  sign in the distance.  “I love you both so much.”  It was her last words as the two other cars passed the sign in front of them.

 

It all happened so fast. As soon as they crossed the cursed town line, Emma and Regina felt a wave rumbling through the town. They could see the silver light of Gina’s powers flare over the whole of Storybrook.  Emma slammed on the breaks, so did the two cars in front of her.  All the women jumped out. 

“What the hell was that?”  Trina was the first to ask. 

“We never considered what would happen when Gina crossed the town line,” Emma said in a shaky voice. 

“Well bloody ask her?”  Zelena chirped in.  Mal looked stunned like she has already figured it out.  Regina still had the letter in her hands.  She remembered her promise and tore the letter open. The ring that has always been on Gina’s right ring finger fell out.  She looked at it, the name on the ring was now clear, written in the ancient English characters.  Regina Snow Jones.  She started to read:

 

_Moms.  I carry this letter with me every day in the hope that today might be the day that you come.  I read it often, wondering if I am hoping against hope.  I have rewritten it a few times, due to it landing up in the wash too many times.  I always seem to add a little extra.  If you are reading this, it means that both of you have given up your magic to be with me.  That is more than what I ever expected, unconditional love that transcends time and space. I have finally found my home and where I belong, with both my mothers._

_The spell I cast to send you to Misthaven was powerful.  It contained more than just a home for you.  It created the backdoor that brought you back, but it also created something else.  I have asked a high price for this magic.  The magic of everyone who possesses it, or their memories.  I also chose who will have memories and who will not.  I picked the leaders to return with their memories.  Since I do not know how many people made the journey, I have no idea if what is about to transpire will work…_

_I decided as I did before.  Not only is there no place in this world for the Dark One, I never desired the mantle and giving it up was the most natural thing I have ever done.  You hold in your hand, the last piece of the Dark One dagger.  Technically the only thing that can kill me and the only thing that can control me.  I place it in your hands because I trust you.  It is not to be used to per sway me to go to the University of your choice – just a note._

_Individual, special people, I chose to change their memories.  Neal, Jaden and I are those people.  I do not wish for Jaden to have the memory of our first date.  Neither do I want Neal the have the guilt of a Kingdom on his shoulders if he did no harm.  As for me, I need to forget Framingham, its pain, and its past. So the three of us will have memories different from what really happened, and it is up to you, our parents to just go with it, guide us.  Neal’s memories were easy to manipulate, Jaden I only had to change one night.  For me, it is a little different, I took away several years of my life and replaced them with memories of growing up with you moms. So there will be gaps that neither of you will be able to explain, if I get lost, just help me through it and tell me it is because of my trauma._

_As soon as I cross the town line, everything will be in motion, and it will be irreversible. Treat your gifts with care.  Know that everyone that gave up something for me will receive it back…_


	44. You have your magic back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning - reference to self-cutting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a week to write the last two chapters. I hope that this story has the kind of ending that everyone wanted. Went for the fuzzy awe! 
> 
> Thank you to all my faithful supporters that followed me since chapter one. Your input and support meant so much.  
> Already have an idea, very different from this one, to start a new story.  
> I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It has been a while.  
> SwanQueen all the way!
> 
> PS. This is my first official published work.

**Chapter 44**

Regina ended the letter.  She did not even realize she started to read aloud.  She looked at the last several paragraphs. “Gifts, trauma, what trauma?”  Then her blood ran cold, she moved to the car, as she approached she already saw that the bike was laying on the side of the road, nearly crumbled against a tree, Toto used that moment to howl, Ruby yelled out that she can smell blood.

Emma pulled the one door open as Regina drew the other. “Oh, gods no!”  Regina yelled and made her way into the car as Toto returned to Ruby.  Trina and Mal were by her side.  It was clear to all of them what Gina meant now.  Mal was first to act.  She dropped the trailer and yelled to Emma to drive.  As Emma got into the car, she saw Regina and Elsa in the back, trying to stop the bleeding.  Li and Ruby was in one of the Sheriff cruisers and spun off, sirens and lights blazing, Emma right behind them.  Emma was on the radio, calling it in. 

“Bringing a female teen into ER, mass blood loss, injury to her head blood type O, have doctors on standby for an emergency op and clear the fucking road to Storybrook General!”  The message was relayed and before the sirens, and burning tires reached the main road, Emma could see that all traffic to the hospital cleared.

 

Regina was relying on Elsa and her cursed memories to guide her.  Then she saw it, her hands had a light glow to it, and the flood of blood eased as she willed her hands to do more.  Elsa saw it and took Regina’s hands away. 

“You have your magic back.”  It was not a question.  She looked at her own hands and placed them on the side of Gina’s face and skull where she could already see massive swelling.  She felt the cold fill her hands and ease the swelling. 

“Heal her, as much as you can, without healing everything.  She created this accident to cause head trauma when things are not right, and her memories are muddled, you can use this as an excuse.  Regina understood the letter all of a sudden and did what Elsa told her.  She stopped some of the bleedings and healed some internal organ damage. The rest would be up to Matt.

 

As Emma raced and swung the SUV to a stop in front of the Emergency doors, the hospital staff ran out with a gurney.  Matt was there. They took over so fast that neither Regina nor Emma had a chance to hold their baby.  Regina promptly turned into Emma’s arms and sobbed.  An over-emotional day turned into a hellish nightmare.

Regina and Emma sat for hours in the waiting room.  Snow and Charming joined them.  Neal was with Elsa.  She went home to change out of the blood-stained dress she had on, when she was sure, every trace of it was removed, she went to the school to pick up Neal and Jaden.  Neither of them took the news well.  It felt like Gina had been gone for a long time and now she had this accident with her bike.  He wanted to be with his parents, with his sister, with his niece.  Those were the memories Gina left him with, the knowledge of who he was, as for his few years on the street looking for her… He has always been with his family.  That part never happened.

 

Jaden remembered everything as well. She knew where they came from and that she had fire powers like her father that worked much like her mother’s powers, the only memory for her that changed was that she spent another night reading a book while everyone was at the spring dance.  Gina was stretched out on the floor next to her.  They started dating that day.

 

Maleficent, Lily, Trina, and Zelena had their powers back.  Mal and Lily could even turn into Dragon form for which they were very grateful.  A few people had a new life, a new beginning.  Matt only remembered his life as a doctor, so did Gabriel van Helsing, he was just a nature-loving cop that hunted illegal animal trade hunters.  Gina’s spell took away many painful and dangerous memories.  Ruby was Red again, without Peter ever being in her life.  Eugenia Lucas, became the bad-tempered crossbow Granny they all depended on.

 

Late in the afternoon, Trina came to join her family.  She took a seat on the other side of Regina.  She was sleeping in Emma’s lap.  Trina reported to Emma what she had found out and what she heard.  It was only a few that had their powers.  Ariel felt the change and came looking for Emma when she could find no one, she made her ways to the brewery and spoke to Trina.  Grand Pabbie was Grant Rockwell, and it seemed that his powers were gifted to Lily.  Emma thanked her.  Trina stayed until Matt made his way over to them.  Emma, reluctantly she woke Regina.  Matt took them aside.

 

“We stopped all the bleeding and managed to reduce the pressure on her brain, there is still a lot of swelling, but it could have been much worse if she did not have that full face helmet on. She had internal bruising, but no organ damage. She is one lucky girl, I have seen more damage to people in far less serious accidents.” He looked at both of them. 

 “I know you had Gina admitted to a program to help her deal with her emotions…”  Regina and Emma just nodded.   _So that was where she was_.  “I am sorry to tell you that she has fresh cuts on her leg and a few new once on her right arm.”  Both Emma and Regina inhaled hard.  They had no idea that Gina was cutting herself.  Emma understood hurt.  When you hurt so much, or you are so numb that any feeling, even pain was a welcome release.   _Was this Gina’s way to deal with them gone?_   She swallowed the ache away.

 

“Can we see her?”  Regina asked in a voice that did not sound like her at all.  “Five minutes, that is all, and then I want the both of you to go home, clean up and rest.”  Regina forgot that she was still soaked in her daughter’s blood.  They both thanked him and made their way to the ICU.  Gina looked so young and so small in the bed. Machines were beeping. There were tubes and wires everywhere.  They both looked at her for a moment before they move and each woman held their girl’s hand. 

 

Regina spoke to her softly, reassuring her of their love, their commitment, telling her that everything will be alright, that she was strong and that they would get through this.  Emma cleared her throat and Regina looked up at her in confusion.

“Your hands.”  Emma mouthed.  Regina looked down and realized that she was healing Gina more.  She let go.  This façade of hiding their magic and using it when it was needed was going to be harder than what she expected.  She lifted the bedding to look at Gina’s body.  Emma already did the same. The cuts Matt spoke off were bandaged.  It stirred Regina either way though.

 

Matt tapped on the glass of the ICU room. They reluctantly left. They gave everyone an update on Gina’s condition. The family held them and let both women cry. Snow and Charming kept on wondering if Gina’s sacrifices for them would ever stop.  They hoped that this was the last of it.  It was already dark outside when they left the hospital.  The two mothers drove to the mansion on Mifflin Street. The house felt more empty than ever before.  They called Henry and told him what happened. He was shocked, proud and heartbroken all at once.  He promised that he and Raps would use the door to come over as soon as it was possible.  It made both of them feel a little better that one of their kids were alright and that they would see him soon.  They settled for the night and had fitful, restless sleep.

 

Gina was moved from ICU to high care the next day.  She was still in a coma, but she had stabilized and was out of danger.  It also meant that Regina and Emma could sit with her.  They took turns.  Their lives were again in upheaval, but for everyone in town, it was just another day in Storybrook.  Emma’s deputy’s checked in with her and reported on the issues of the day.  The Mayor received several calls of concern and well wishes.  Elsa and Grant were dealing with town issues, and suddenly she was happy and relieved to have her own Deputy Mayor, she knew Elsa was more than capable of handling everything.

 

Neal and Jaden came to visit after school. Summer holiday was a week away, they both hope that Gina would be better by then.  Jaden cried as she held her love’s hand.  She talked to her about her day, telling her how much she missed Gina.  Elsa warned them both that all of this happened so that Gina’s memories of her past was changed.  Having both kids remember their magical past helped a lot with the explanations. So everyone steered clear of mention of certain things since no one knew precisely what Gina would remember or not.

 

 Another day passed, and Gina’s vitals improved so much that she was placed in a private room, but there was still little movement, and even though the swelling on her brain was reduced significantly, she remained in a coma.

 By day five, Regina was beside herself.  She understood that besides the physical injury, Gina’s mind had to reorder itself with the new memories.  She was also sedated because she started to go through alcohol withdrawals.  It added to both mothers’ concern.  What would Gina be like if she eventually did wake up? A troubled teen with a drinking problem and inflicting physical harm on herself?  Regina started to cry again.  She was thinking of the young girl’s life and what brought them to this point.  No one should ever suffer the pain her daughter had.  She heard a stir.  She turned in the seat she took by the window.  Green eyes were staring back at her.  She gasped, and in a second she was at Gina’s side and ringing the bell for the nurse.

“Hey Honey?”  She said softly not knowing what to expect. Gina blinked a few times.  The nurse saw her awake and went to call Matt.

Gina looked at her mother in the strangest way. “Why do you look like shit Mom?” The question took Regina aback.  She was dressed in a pair of Emma’s jeans, it was torn at the knees, and she had sneakers and one of Gina’s oversized hockey jerseys on.  She needed the comfort. She did not bother to apply makeup.  Regina looked at herself and back to Gina.

 

“I’m…” She did not know what to say.  Gina moved again and tried to get some moist in her mouth.  Regina held a cup of water with a straw for her, and she drank a few sips.  Matt came in. “Welcome back Miss Jones.”  Gina glared at him.  “Why am I here Doc?”  Matt looked at Regina.

“You had an accident Honey; you fell with your bike.”  Gina looked at her in shock.  “How is my bike?”  Matt gave a deep laugh.

“Typical.  Your bike is going to need a lot of work, not unlike you.”  He took out his stethoscope and asked her to breathe in.  She did.  He placed it in a few more places and listened to her heart. He checked her head and the cut underneath her eye.  He looked at the cuts on her leg, and Regina inhaled as she saw the damage.  Matt sat down on the bed and spoke to both Regina and her daughter. 

“Your arm is broken, again.  We had to put pins in this time.  You cracked a few ribs, which is why it hurts when you breathe.  The cuts on your leg were infected, we had to scrape them clean.”  He looked deep into Gina’s eyes, and he was glad to see her blush in shame under his scrutiny.

“You had severe swelling on your brain, so we will do a few tests before you can even think of going home, so don’t ask.”  Gina indicated that she understood.  Matt patted her on her good leg and left.

 

“So mom, why do you look like shit?”  Regina’s mouth opened, and then mom mode took over. “Really Gina?  You just came back from the center to help you, you were drunk, you crashed your bike and landed up in a coma for five days, and you dare ask me that question?”  Gina laughed until it hurt too much and she had to hold her side.  Her mother was rubbing her back.  “And mind your language young lady!”  The comment awarded Regina with a huge smile.  She leaned in to kiss Gina, and the young girl’s arms went around her mother automatically.  “I love you,” Regina whispered against her head, and Gina held on a little tighter. “I’m sorry I scared you,” Gina said as she pulled back to look at her mother.  Regina wiped her tears.  “We will get through this the same way we always do when you injure yourself.” Regina tried to give her a little smile.

“Where is Mama and Jaden?”

“I will call Emma now, and Jaden will be here after school.”  Gina rolled her eyes.  “It feels as if I have not seen her in a year.” Regina looked at her sternly. 

“Do we need to talk about sex again?”

“Mom!”  Regina was starting to feel better.  She was acting like Gina, saying things her Gina would say.  She called Emma while the nurse came back to ask Gina a few questions.  She returned a moment later with juice and what looked like purity. She frowned.  “Just eat it, Miss Jones!”  Regina reprimanded the same way she had heard her mother tell Emma off so many times.  Gina reached out to her and held her hand.  Regina could see the emotions in the green eyes.

 

Emma was at the hospital in record time.

“Hey, Kid?” Gina gave her a small smile, much like Emma’s own.

“Hey, Mama.”  Emma’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest at the word.  She looked to Regina who smiled at her lovingly, her eyes telling Emma that everything was alright.  Emma sat down and rubbed Gina’s shoulder.  “How ya feeling?”

“Really?”  Gina asked, and Emma smiled. 

“That bad huh?”  Gina nodded. 

“How is my bike?”  Typical Emma thought. 

“It’s fucked, Kid.” She answered seriously.

“Emma! Language! No wonder she curses like a sailor!”

“Pirate!”  Both mother and daughter exclaimed and burst into laughter.  “I miss him,” Gina said softly.  Neither woman needed to ask who she was referring to.  She remembered Killian, which was good.  Regina would report all the details to Matt later. “Ma, can you please take some pictures of my bike and send them to Tommy?  He will know what parts I will need to replace.”  The two mothers shared a moment of silent communication.  Regina indicated with her brow that she was not going to be the unpopular mother today.  Emma sighed. 

“Kid, before you will even touch a spanner, there are more important things to fix.” Gina sighed.  “The cutting?”

“Amongst other things.  Your arm is broken, your one knee is badly bruised.  I should be arresting you for drunk driving and underage drinking.  You will not see your aunts in a hurry.”  Gina started to shake her head. 

“They have nothing to do with this!  You should know that Aunt Trina and Mal have literary banned me from entering the brewery!” The grownups exchanged a look again.  It annoyed Gina the way they communicated by  _osmosis_. Regina let out a sigh. 

“Alright, as it is you will be spending the entire summer at home anyhow. It should keep you out of mischief for most of the time, but Gina you need to learn to talk to us, there is no reason for you to continue to bottle up your pain?”  Their daughter nodded, tears brighten her eyes.  Both mothers leaned in to hold her, and she let them.  It was a relief.

 

They stayed and chatted with her a while mostly to determine which of her memories changed.  They concluded that their troubled teen’s problems started when she ran away after Killian died.  She landed on the streets of Boston in a state of shock, and it was only six years later that the family was reunited. She had memories of growing up with Regina and Emma, memories of Neal, Jaden, and Jason being her friends from the time she returned to Storybrook and Henry off course.  It all seemed to fall into place, without the tragedy of her two years in prison.  They left to give her some rest after the nurse administered some painkillers and Gina slowly fell asleep.

 

She woke up, confused again for a moment, looking at her surroundings.  Then she met the beautiful blue eyes.  Her tummy turned. 

“Hey.”  She said huskily. She got crossed arms and an eyebrow.  Gina gave a faint smile.

“Are you angry with me?”  The frown deepened. 

“What do you think?”  Her voice did not reflect her body language.  It quivered, and Gina could hear the tears were not far away. 

“I am sorry for worrying you.”  Jaden played with the ring on her right ring finger.  It was one of the first things she noticed when she walked in, Gina was in a hockey jersey again, the snowflake necklace was in its place and the infinity ring Jaden had given her, was placed on the left-hand ring finger. It did not matter that Gina was away for a time, or that she was injured.  All Jaden needed to know was despite everything, this amazing girl still belonged to her.

 

The tears came, Gina held open her arms and Jaden came to lay on the bed next to her, huddled in Gina’s embrace, crying.

“I am so sorry my love,” Gina whispered as she held her girlfriend.  The crying stopped after a while, and the tearstained face looked up. 

“I love you.”  The words were soft and full of emotion.  Gina leaned in to kiss her.  The kiss was soft and gentle. It filled Gina with hope and love she knew she would never be able to live without. 

“And I love you Jaden.” She said after the kiss ended. She looked into the blue eyes.  The want and need made Jaden’s tummy turn, she gave Gina a light slap and turned in her arms to lay on her back in the comfort of the warmth. 

“Don’t look at me that way.”

“What way?’  Gina faked innocence. 

“Like you want to devour me.” Gina giggled. 

“Does it turn you on my love?”  Jaden turned to look at her. 

“You know it does.”  She said frustrated. 

“Then we will need to do something about it.”  Gina’s words were husky and sensual. Jaden gave her a soft poke in the ribs. 

“With the state, you are in; it will be months before you can make good on that promise.”  Gina smiled and gave her a chased kiss. 

“Besides,” Jaden added.  “before I will let you make good on your promise, you will have to take me out on a proper date first.  I’m not just any girl you can charm with a kiss and seductive eyes.  Gina smiled as she held her girl closer and they both closed their eyes. 

“Proper date, promise, first thing on my list as soon as I am out of here.”  Jaden had her own smile now.  The two fell asleep like that.

 

Three mothers looked at their daughters sleeping contently. As they all turned to walk away, Elsa spoke up.  “We are going to have to deal with an entire set of new problems, now that they are both of legal age.”

“At least one of those problems will not be teenage pregnancy,” Emma added dryly.  All three laughed as Emma pulled Regina and Elsa closer to her.  She kissed Regina on the head.  Life was good.

  

The End


End file.
